Mass Effect: The Storm Arrives
by BDM
Summary: Alternate Universe story, latest in a long-running fanfiction series. Captain Alan Tyler and Commander Kaelyn Shepard have different paths to tread, but they must both reach the same destination and prevent an ancient evil from returning to the galaxy.
1. Author's Notes and a Brief Prologue

**Author's Note:** I'm not usually one to do these, but I do believe it's appropriate here. I do not doubt that people will read this and be thinking "Who are these people?" or "This isn't the right date for Mass Effect" or "I'm confused". This story isn't canonical to the "actual" Mass Effect universe. If you have not read the Mechagodzilla series, the G-Chaser series, the Extended Universe (aka Halo Different) series or the Firefly Mk2 series then do so before reading this story. This series follows on from where the Firefly Mk2 series left off. The G-Chaser and Firefly Mk2 series can be found on my page, while the Mechagodzilla and Extended Universe series can be found on CII's page (she is listed under my favourite authors). Those stories should answer all of your questions. If you're not going to take the time to read those stories then please don't waste my time with comments expressing confusion or complaints about characters or story elements that aren't in the Mass Effect timeline. These characters and story elements are established in CII's universe and I won't alter them.

This series is also based (however loosely) on my own personal play-through of the Mass Effect series. Neither CII nor myself own Mass Effect, Halo or anything else; just our own versions of them.

**Prologue**

In the year 2553, thirty years after it had begun, Earth's brutal war against the collection of alien races known as the Covenant ended. Humanity triumphed, thanks to the aid of their Sangheili allies, and began to rebuild its civilisation and all that was lost in the war. Chief among the reconstructions was the restoration of the planet Reach, which had supplied the United Nations Space Command with its largest shipyards.

Humanity would soon find that it was not alone, for six months after the war contact was established with the Citadel, the heart of galactic civilisation. Due to their efforts in the war, the alien Council granted humanity an embassy on the Citadel, with Kiryuu Knight and Donnel Udina elected as Earth's ambassadors. However the Sangheili rejected the offer of an embassy, unhappy with the stringent Treaty of Farixen and determined to maintain their independence after finally breaking free from the Covenant. In spite of this, the Sangheili remain steadfast allies of the humans, forming with them the Orion Alliance, charged with the safety of the Orion Arm.

Five years have passed, which have been spent rebuilding the strength of the UNSC armada, including the fitting of suitable slip-space drives to take advantage of the Mass Relay network. These incredible structures believed to be created by the Forerunners allow for instantaneous transportation between any two relays, even those at the far reaches of the galaxy. As a result humanity has expanded its colonies further than ever before, though some of the humans, unhappy with the Citadel's regulations, have settled out in the lawless Terminus Systems. Wherever they went, however, the people of Earth proved themselves to be adroit and adaptive – to the consternation of some longer-established species, who view the treatment of the humans as an act of favouritism.

All of galactic civilisation is built on the backs of the relays. At the heart of them lies a force capable of manipulating the fabric of space and time; a force which has led all into a prosperous new age.

The civilisations of the galaxy call this force Mass Effect.


	2. Disturbing the Peace

**MASS EFFECT: THE STORM ARRIVES  
**

**Disturbing the Peace**

The war was over. Five years of brutal and bloody conflict had ended. The San 'Shyuum and their Jirahalnae allies had held out for so long, and there was no denying their zeal and determination, but in the end they were crushed utterly by the might of the Sangheili forces. At last the Orion Arm was free of the scourge of the Covenant that not so long ago had come close to destroying all life in the galaxy. Those days now seemed like little more than a bad dream.

"I'll give 'em this," the Sangheili Supreme Commander Telek 'Heros drawled in his East Tennessean accent, "they held out longer than I thought they would."

Telek was sat on his command chair on the cavernous bridge, in complete control of the super carrier _Shadow of Darkness_. He was practically married to the ship, which rode at the head of the Fleet Shadow of Fury as it patrolled this sector of Sangheili space, alert for any last-minute resistance from Covenant stragglers that might have been missed. By most accounts he should not have even been here at all, nor should have anyone from the small group of dreadnoughts that flew under his command. After all of the trouble that they had caused and the number of direct orders that they had all disobeyed, they should have been slaving away on a remote mining colony, but fortune had been in their favour. Amongst the fleet those days were now a 'look back and laugh on it' moment.

"What'll happen to the stragglers, you reckon?" a Yorkshire-accented voice asked him from somewhere to his left.

"Who knows?" Telek shrugged. "Not that I expect 'em all to surrender, but I expect they'll be tossed on some penal colony. There ain't many what you'd call civilians among the Jirahalnae. One thing's for sure they'll never be able to put up a fight again. I guess you and Tom'll be headin' home now, eh, Alan?"

"That depends," replied Alan. "Any cheap real estate on Sanghelios at this time of year?"

"Oh, sure," Telek laughed. "Just hope ya remembered your tent."

Alan Tyler was the only non-Sangheili on the bridge of the ship, though those not familiar with Earth would be hard-pressed to identify what species he was. He looked for all intents and purposes like a cross between human and reptile, his skin covered in grey pebbly scales and his hands and feet replaced by animalistic claws. A long thick tail snaked behind him, while his face was a distorted cross between reptile and human, with golden slit-pupil eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. His ashy-brown hair draped down to his shoulders. He was the Shipmaster of the Firefly-class cargo ship _Serenity_, which for the past five years had flown as part of the fleet.

"Well, at least it's all over," he said to Telek. "The Alliance should have an easier time of it now with them gone."

"Ah, the next war's always round the corner," Telek said. "Some other alien will get a bug up their ass about the Orion Arm sooner or later, you watch. I'm sure the Turians would be jumping right in there if the humans weren't already on the damn Citadel, and even then they're looking for any excuse to pick a fight. Plus there's the little matter of a certain dragon..." He shook himself and looked gravely at Alan. "I ain't forgotten about him just yet."

"He hasn't been seen for five years," Alan said. "Last I heard the Citadel Council had sent their fleets in to quarantine the Halos, so with any luck he can't use the Flood anymore."

"Some of the Halos are out in the Terminus Systems though," Telek groaned. "You know the Council won't touch those with a sixty-foot barge pole. I reckon Kiryuu's just beating his head against a wall in that place. I reckon they don't wanna believe that monster's still out there, biding his time. That'd just upset their pretty little space."

"We do though," Alan said. "Right now though, let's just enjoy the moment. I'll buy the crew a round when we get to port."

"Don't tempt me," chuckled Telek. "I've been teetotal for five years now. Don't make me spoil my record."

"Excellency," an urgent-sounding voice called from the helm. It was the helmsman Joli. "We've just intercepted an emergency transmission on the UNSC bandwidth. It's coming from the human colony on Eden Prime in the Exodus cluster."

"Eden Prime?" asked Telek. "Ain't nothin' but farms on there. Why would anyone attack there?"

"Could be Batarian slavers from the Terminus Systems," said Alan. "I've heard stories about them from the Citadel. They make the odd run into the Attican Traverse to snatch slaves."

"I doubt the Batarians have anything to do with this," said Joli. "I'm putting it up on-screen now."

All eyes on the bridge turned to the enormous holographic display. The footage that began was very shaky and fuzzy, as if recorded on a hand-held camera. It did show enough, however, to reveal that Eden Prime had degenerated into a complete war-zone, with human soldiers running around shooting at an unseen enemy. A female soldier in white-and-red combat armour ran to the cameraman and pushed him to the ground, shouting _"Get down!"_ as she fired over his head.

The camera swung around, trying to get a clear view, but little could be seen other than flying bullets and plasma fire, as well as spraying mud from the impact of the shots. Every now and then Alan thought he could see what looked like blue flashlights in the midst of the chaos, but it was still hard to tell. Another soldier crouched down close by and spoke into the camera.

"_We are under attack, taking heavy casualties!"_ he shouted over the cacophony. _"I repeat, heavy casualties! We can't get evac! They came out of nowhere! We need-"_

He was suddenly cut off as a plasma bolt ripped his chest open. Blood splattered onto the camera and the soldier collapsed, his face frozen in an expression of shock. All of a sudden, what sounded like a horrible, deafening grating sound could be heard all around, and the soldiers looked around in confusion. The camera glanced upwards for a moment, revealing something enormous coming through the clouds, before there was nothing but static.

"Everything cuts out after that," said Joli, breaking the shocked silence on the bridge. "No comm traffic at all. It just goes dead. There's nothing."

"Reverse and hold at 38.5," said Telek. Joli did so, freezing the footage on the frame as the object came down from the sky. It looked like a giant metallic cuttlefish, covered in a dark metal and large sparks of red lightning crackling along its surface. Four metal tentacles stretched out from the bottom of the bulbous body, giving the impression of a grasping claw preparing to plunge itself into the planet.

"Status report!" Telek bellowed, after a long pause.

"We're thirty-one minutes out," Joli replied. "That takes the relay jump into account. No UNSC vessels reported in the area."

"So much for the victory drinks," Telek said firmly. "Open channels to the fleet."

At once five smaller screens appeared, each displaying the face of the other Shipmasters in the Fleet Shadow of Fury.

"Cujo, Mitsu, Tulsa, Wago, Tom," barked Telek.

"_Right here, Excellency,"_ said Mitsu 'Kimam, Shipmaster of the _Holy Justice_.

"_Always ready to serve, Excellency,"_ said Wago 'Tawun, Shipmaster of the _Regret and Reconciliation_.

"_Ready, Skipper,"_ said Tom Jimenez, Shipmaster of the _Transcending Vigilance_ and the only human face on the screens.

"_Ready, Excellency,"_ said Tulsa 'Durosh, Shipmaster of the _Righteous Fury_.

"_Loud and clear, Telek,"_ said Cujo 'Mentatal, Shipmaster of the _Divine Journey_. _"You see that transmission just now?"_

"Couldn't miss it," Telek said gravely. "The UNSC have no ships on hand to help out, and it'll take them too long to dispatch a fleet. We're the only ones near enough to get there and do something about it."

"_Even with no idea of what we're up against?"_ asked Wago, rather nervously.

"Don't we always?" replied Telek in a very snide manner. He didn't know how he had put up with a kiss-ass like Wago for this long.

"_What the hell was that thing on the video?"_ said Tom. _"I've never seen anything like it!"_

"Don't ask us, Tom," Telek replied. "I've seen a lot of strange stuff in this galaxy, but that one's new to me. Sure doesn't match any ship outline I'm familiar with."

"_Great,"_ said Cujo wryly. _"We just got outta one warzone just to step into another. We going in?"_

"You got it," said Telek. "We'll jump through the Urs relay and be there within the next thirty minutes. Push your engines hard, people!"

"_You got it, Telek,"_ Cujo replied. The other Shipmasters signed off.

"Let's just hope there's still a colony left to save by the time we get there," said Alan.

"Just have a lot of positive thinking, kid," said Telek. Even though Alan was technically several centuries older than Telek, the Sangheili had made a habit of calling him 'kid'. "Tell your crew to get themselves prepped. A strike team will operate better on the ground than a full army."

"You got it," replied Alan, stepping down from the bridge towards the cargo bay. Of everyone in the fleet Alan was the only other person besides Cujo who didn't refer to Telek by a title, something which the Sangheili was now too used to for it to bother him.

0

Minutes later, the fleet was approaching Eden Prime. The planet was said to be a paradise, a symbol of humanity's ability in spreading out beyond the Orion Arm and making a place for itself deeper in the galaxy. Looking at the serene, Earth-like planet from space, it was hard to believe that there was a war breaking out on the surface.

"Start your scanners," said Telek. "Joli, use the Luminary and find out how many are still down there."

"At once, Excellency," replied Joli. On the screen a hologram of the planet could now be seen, with an array of Forerunner symbols spread out across it. The Luminary was a Covenant scanner, allowing for the detection of Forerunner technology and life-forms. Devices such as this explained how the Covenant had known what planets were inhabited by humans during the war. By now Alan was able to recognise some of the glyphs; several of them were concentrating in one area. Some of the small glyphs belonged to Reclaimers – the term that the Forerunners had used for humans. Many other blips could be seen, but the Luminary could not pinpoint their origin.

"Can you tell what's down there?" Alan asked, but Telek looked as puzzled as Alan felt.

"I have no idea," he said disbelievingly. "I've never seen these glyphs appear anywhere before. Looks like the colony's still intact for the time being though; they must have got the colonists into the shelters in time."

"Excellency!" Joli suddenly called. "Something's coming up from the surface. The readings show it to be roughly two kilometres in height. The outline matches that of the ship we saw in the transmission!"

"Everyone get your shields up!" shouted Telek down the intercom, contacting the other ships. "Don't let that thing escape!"

Something seemed to tear the clouds on the planet apart as it shot through the atmosphere. All of the ships gathered, forming a blockade between this ship and the blackness of space. As it emerged from the planet's atmosphere, the cuttlefish-like ship slowed, lightning crackling over its surface. Alan could have sworn that, if it had a face, it would be leering at them, trying to intimidate them. Though small in comparison to the Sangheili dreadnoughts, it continued to sit calmly in front of them, as if daring them to make the first move.

Suddenly, without warning, a gigantic bolt of energy shot out of the ship, aimed straight at the _Shadow of Darkness_. The ship shook violently as it was struck by the strange energy, explosions rocked the mighty ship and everyone was thrown about. Alarms sounded all over the ship as the other ships in the fleet began to return fire.

"Damage report!" Telek shouted.

"Shields are holding," Joli called. "We can't get a straight shot at it though!"

"_We can't even hit that thing!"_ Mitsu's voice crackled over the intercom. _"Something's scrambling our targeting systems! I'm gonna try increasing the plasma yield-"_

Before another word could be said, the strange ship suddenly fired off another shot towards the _Holy Justice_. The ship was much smaller than the _Shadow of Darkness_ and less reinforced, and as the red bolt struck it was engulfed in a huge fireball. The shattered ship was scattered to the stars, and the comm channel went dead.

"Mitsu!" Telek yelled, but to no avail. No reply came from the stricken ship. More bolts shot out from the ship towards the fleet, and the _Shadow of Darkness_ was struck again. Alan toppled to his knees and struggled to pull himself back up as alarms sounded. Such a tremor should not have been so severe with the ship's shields up, and he dreaded to contemplate the power behind those lasers.

"Alan!" Telek shouted. "Take the _Serenity_ and get down to the surface! Hurry! We'll keep its attention on us!"

"Aye, aye!" Alan called, dashing down the corridors of the super carrier, as it was rocked by further explosions.

"Bishop!" he shouted into his commlink. "Tell me the Serenity's prepped and ready to go!"

"_The engines are ready!"_ the voice of Alan's pilot called back. _"We're just waiting on you!"_

"Get us down to the surface as soon as I'm on board!" Alan replied before killing the channel. As he reached the hangar another shot struck the ship, and Alan was sure that he heard a low groaning sound coming from somewhere underneath the ship. Listening in on his commlink, he found that the fleet's communicator channels were in utter disarray, and he found it hard to make out what anybody was saying clearly.

As soon as he was on board the small oddly-shaped Firefly-class cargo carrier, the ramp was raised and the ship lurched off the lavender floor of the cavernous hangar. The ship rapidly turned around and flew straight out of the force-field-protected opening out towards the surface. The shock of what had happened to Mitsu threatened to hit home, and he found it hard to keep his mind focused on the task of survival.

"Bishop!" he shouted as he reached the small bridge. "Get us out of here!"

"You don't need to tell me twice, Captain," Bishop said, in his unnaturally calm manner. As an android, Bishop didn't feel fear in the same way that most sentient beings did. At the present time, Alan envied him.

Out in the infinite void of space, nothing could be heard coming from outside. In some ways Alan was thankful for this, for he had no desire to listen to the carnage that the strange ship must be causing right now. The _Serenity_ continued to speed towards Eden Prime, and at every second Alan was afraid that the invading ship would strike them down at any second. If the _Holy Justice_ couldn't survive the attacks, what chance did the tiny _Serenity_ have?

"Bishop, can't you hail them?" asked Alan, worried.

"I can't, Captain," Bishop replied. "I can't even hail the Citadel or UNSC Command. Something's jamming my transmissions. It must be that other craft!"

"Shit..." Alan muttered, furiously. He tried desperately to keep calm and think, but the sudden attack on the fleet had caught him completely off-guard. Swiftly, and without hesitation, the fleet was now being thrown into utter chaos by just one ship. A million questions ran through Alan's mind; where had that ship come from? Who had made it? Why did it attack such a remote human colony, and how could it be powerful enough to hold its own against six fully-armed and operational Sangheili dreadnoughts?

Of course, right now, he had to focus on the more immediate problem; getting down to the surface and finding out just what had happened. He seriously doubted that the colony had even stood a chance against that nightmarish craft, but he felt obligated to go and survey the damage.

"Bishop," he said, trying to keep his voice level as the ship began to shake from the re-entry. "Take us to the landing site of that ship. I want to know the extent of the damage."

"Understood, Captain," Bishop replied, still remaining eerily calm in the midst of this chaos. Alan walked over to the ship's intercom and spoke into it.

"Alistair, José," he said, "get prepped and meet me in the cargo bay. We're going in."

0

Eden Prime was an idyllic world, one of the first to be colonised by humans once they had gained access to the Charon Relay. With its pristine Earth-like greenery and its capability of sustaining Earth-based life-forms, it had become something of a bastion of humanity's ability to cement colonies out in the galactic community.

Now, however, as the _Serenity_ swooped low over the treetops, the colony looked like a war zone. The low colony buildings and equipment for farming and cargo transport all showed signs of damage and destruction, and bodies lay everywhere. At this height it was difficult to tell what exactly the bodies were, and all of the crew prayed that they were not those of the colonists. The red sunset sky gave the impression of being filled with blood.

As the ship approached the colony spaceport, they saw the landing site of the ship that had attacked them. A large circle in the ground, roughly a quarter of a mile in diameter, was charred black, scorched as if a Sangheili ship had glassed the area, and much of the spaceport had been completely annihilated in the blast. The ship hovered carefully over a small clearing amidst a bunch of trees, connected to a path leading up to what was left of the spaceport. Three figures dropped through a hatch in the bottom of the ship and landed in the midst of the trees below as the ship pulled away.

"Stay in a low orbit, Bishop," Alan said into his commlink, as he landed on the grass. "We'll signal when we need you." He peered cautiously all around him with his cat-like eyes. After all of the signals that the Luminary picked up, he was not willing to take any chances. His companions, meanwhile, were surveying the damage caused by the ship.

"Jesus..." murmured Alistair, the green-skinned, griffin-like gargoyle, peering at the scene with wide grey eyes. "It's like someone dropped a bomb." Alan turned to look out across the blasted land himself. It was still so hot that Alan imagined he could feel his scaled skin roasting.

Alan's other companion, the human soldier José Lovano, was surveying the trees all around them. A dirt path led up a hill towards a large tram station, with the path having numerous trees on either side. Some way off to his left was a tall metal building; the administrative offices and control tower for the spaceport. His hearing suddenly picked up the sound of gunfire coming from the station, but the trees obscured his vision so he couldn't see what was going on. He kept his large ODST-issue assault rifle raised, nervous and alert.

All of a sudden he saw the bushes further up the path twitch ever so slightly. It was a very brief, blink-and-you-miss-it movement, but years of training had taught José that such a movement was all he needed to know. He dived to the side as a sudden stream of plasma fire shot out of the trees ahead; had he been a second slower, he would certainly have been shot. He took cover behind one of the larger trees as Alan and Alistair spun round to see who had fired upon them. Shots went flying in their direction. Alistair was able to get to cover behind a large rock, but Alan wasn't so lucky. Plasma fire ripped right through his chest. A shocked expression on his face, Alan fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Neither of the others noticed as they continued to be fired upon by the unseen attackers. They were hiding somewhere at the end of the path, the trees giving them ample amounts of cover, making them hard to both see and shoot. Above the sounds of gunfire, Alistair was sure that he could hear a strange, electronic clicking noise, and as he dived out of cover to fire back with his twin Sangheili-standard plasma rifles he was sure that he could see vivid blue lights at the other end of the path. Whoever the attackers were they clearly had the advantage of position and numbers, but after fighting alongside Sangheili for the past five years they knew that they had faced tougher odds before this and come out alive. They fired back into the trees, cutting down one of the attackers which gave a loud metallic-sounding shriek as it was struck.

The exchange of fire continued for a whole minute, until suddenly the gunfire from the attackers stopped. There were sounds of metallic crashing and the strange clicking noises were suddenly silenced. As the sounds of fighting suddenly died, Alistair and José dared to look up the path again, their weapons raised. They both breathed sighs of relief as Alan walked calmly down the path towards them, with what looked like a small grey handle in his claw. Neither Alistair nor José seemed overly surprised to see Alan walking around, considering they had both seen him get shot not five minutes previously.

"Bloody hell, boss," Alistair sighed as he lowered his plasma rifles. "You alright?"

"I'll live," Alan replied, approaching them. As he got closer, the others could see large holes in his shirt, and beyond them the very visible wounds he had sustained from the plasma fire. Before their eyes, the wounds were closing up rapidly. One advantage that Alan's species had was their incredibly advanced healing and immune system.

"Caramba..." José muttered, looking slightly queasy. "I've known you for five years, and I still can't get used to that sight." Of the trio he was the only one who showed any signs of having aged, as he had picked up some extra lines and scars on his face.

"You've hardly seen it before," Alan shrugged. "Those guys were damn good shots though, and really good at sneaking up on people. We're lucky we saw any sign of them at all. They didn't have a scent that I could pick up either. Come on, I'll show you why..."

He motioned for his shipmates to follow him, and soon the trio were heading up the embankment and through the trees. About halfway up, Alan motioned for them to stop and pointed down at the bodies of the attackers, and the eyes of his companions widened when they saw what had shot at them. The figures had a humanoid shape, but as it turned out they were robots, constructed of a purple-coloured metal and with the joints made out of thick cable. A single large lens constituted their heads, tucked inside a metal recess. When they were active this lens was lit with a strong blue-white light, which would account for the 'flashlights' seen in the distress call. In spite of being constructs they apparently bled, for the ground was splashed with puddles of a white fluid, seeping from large cuts made by Alan's Technomantic whip.

"What the hell?" Alistair breathed, as he nudged one of the cold metal bodies with his claw-like foot. "I've seen some weird stuff in this galaxy, but that takes the cake."

Alan, meanwhile, was bending over the body and running his arm over it. Like everyone else in these times, he had upgraded his commlink to incorporate Omni-Tool technology, and now a series of holographic buttons and scanners had appeared along the length of his forearm and claw. It had taken him a while to get used to manipulating hard-light controls, but he had gotten the hang of it after some practice. He was now scanning the metallic body and sending the results back to Bishop on the _Serenity_. When he was finished, he switched on the commlink function.

"Bishop," he said, "you may want to take a look at this scan I've sent you. Can you make any sense of it?"

"_I'll see what I can do,"_ Bishop said. _"On first glance, however, I can safely say that this isn't like anything we have encountered before. It may not even be known to any scholar on Earth. The Sangheili have explored more of the galaxy than us; perhaps they know something."_

"Don't talk to me about the Sangheili right now," Alan groaned, glancing back up at the sky. "I'm worried about the others enough as it is."

"It's a good bet these chupavergas had something to do with that nightmare ship though," José snarled. A few years ago the Hispanic soldier wouldn't have cared less if anything posed a threat to the Sangheili. Time serving in a Sangheili fleet had ironed out a lot of those flaws. "Probably a straggler party, left to mop up the colonists," he added.

"Maybe," Alan said, looking out towards the colony itself. "Most of the colony still seems to be standing though. Let's just hope the colonists-"

He was interrupted as a sudden loud explosion erupted from somewhere close by. The trio looked in the direction of the trees, but of course could see little through them.

"What the hell was that?" José exclaimed.

"I think it came from the spaceport," Alan replied, beginning to sprint up the path. "Come on!"

As fast as their legs could carry them, the trio ran up a small incline along the dirt path, until they reached a small plateau overlooking the spaceport, with a metal staircase nearby leading to the port itself. The structure was now greatly reduced in size after the strange dreadnought's attack, and the cargo crates along the large platform were in disarray. Even at this distance, however, they could see three figures on the platform below, close by what looked like a smoking heap of ruined metal. Alan guessed that it was what had caused the explosion, and it seemed one of the figures had been struck by it. They were sprawled on the ground, their companions attempting to revive them.

Approaching carefully, their weapons drawn, Alan and his companions walked down the steps and approached the figures. As they got closer Alan could see that they were human. A man and a woman were both trying to revive their unconscious companion; a second woman. Suddenly the awake female must have heard them approaching, for she spun around quickly and raised her assault rifle at them. She was dark-skinned, with black hair tied back in a bun, and wearing white and red combat armour. With a start, Alan recognised her armour from the distress signal. She bared her teeth as she took careful aim at the _Serenity_ crew.

"That's close enough!" she barked, throwing a mistrusting glare from her brown eyes.

"Don't shoot," Alan said calmly, lowering his weapon and motioning for the others to do the same. "We got your message. Looks like we got here a bit late though."

"No fucking kidding," the woman spat. "What are you? Raiders? Thieves? Looking to make a fast buck before the bodies have even gone cold?"

"Ash," said her companion, finally speaking up. He was a tall, well-built man dressed in black body armour, with short dark hair and traces of Korean features. "Ash, put the gun down. These guys are on-the-level."

"You know 'em, L-T?" the woman called Ash responded, looking sceptical.

"The changeling there's Captain Alan Tyler of the Firefly-class transporter _Serenity_," the man responded, in a gruff yet calm voice. "These guys went through Hell and back to save Ambassador Knight five years ago, and they've been fighting in the frontlines with the Fleet Shadow of Fury mopping up the Covenant ever since. You're looking at living legends here, Ash."

Ash hesitated for a moment, still peering shrewdly at the three _Serenity_ crewmen. After a moment's silence, she finally holstered her rifle, fixing it to a special attachment on the back of her armour. She turned to look back at her compatriot, shaking her head.

"How was I supposed to know that, L-T?" she asked. "I don't give a crap what the Elites get up to, as long as they're not carpet-bombing us." At this Alan couldn't help smirking at José; that sounded like exactly the sort of thing he would have said a few years ago. The former ODST just looked flustered, as Alan turned to look at Ash' companion.

"You're well-informed, sir," said. "Didn't think we were famous."

"We've got a mutual friend in the fleet," the man said. "Acanthus Davis and I both went to Technomancer's Anonymous."

"Funny," Alan said, folding his arms. "People aren't supposed to be learning Technomancy, as far as I know. Didn't think you guys had schools."

"Well, not exactly," the man chuckled. "We just both had the same teacher. As long as I don't go shouting about it, the UNSC doesn't kick up a fuss. Anyway, he's told me a lot about you guys, how you've made careers out of doing the impossible. How is he doing these days anyway?"

"I'm not sure," Alan said, looking back up at the sky with an uneasy expression. "The last time I saw the fleet, they were trying to stop that big dreadnought escaping. They weren't having much luck."

"Must be the same one we saw," Ash chimed in. "I thought Elite dreadnoughts would have smashed it up by now. Size matters to them, right?"

"At least it's all quiet down here now," her friend said. "We drove off the attacking Geth and most of the colonists made it to the shelters. We got pretty lucky, all things considered."

"Wait," Alistair said, raising his claw. "What did you say? What was that about Geth?"

The man was about to answer when a voice suddenly spoke over Alan's commlink.

"_Repeat, Divine Journey to shore party!"_ came the sound of Cujo's voice. _"Alan, do you copy?"_

"Cujo?" Alan responded, his heart feeling a lot lighter. "Damn, it's good to hear your voice. Are you guys alright?"

"_We'll talk about that in a moment,"_ said Cujo. _"Right now, can you clarify what the hell happened down there?"_

"The colony's safe," Alan said. "I'm with... er..." He faltered, realising that he had not asked for names at all.

"Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko of the _UNSCSV Normandy SR-1_," the man replied, giving a quick salute. "This is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, stationed with the 212 here when the Geth attacked." He paused as Ashley gave a small nod of acknowledgement, tending to the unconscious woman.

"Our commanding officer here," Kaidan continued, "is Commander Kaelyn Shepard, also of the _Normandy_. She had an... accident. We're just waiting for a pick-up from our ship now."

Alan leaned in to get a better look at the unconscious Commander. She was a pale-skinned figure with short brown hair, dressed in black body armour and with a variety of weapons slung on her back. Her right sleeve was covered with a red and white stripe, and on her breastplate was the insignia 'N7', which Alan recognised as identifying the very best of the Special Forces unit. This special operations team was an offshoot of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, trained to deal with even more dangerous situations. Looking beyond the trio of humans, Alan saw the still-smoking pile of scrap; the presumed cause of the explosion.

"I can probably guess what happened to her," Alan said. "I bet she got a bit too close to that explosion. What blew up, anyway?"

"Oh, that?" Kaidan said off-handedly. "That's confidential, I'm afraid."

"Really?" Alan said, his curiosity now piqued. "You should know that I'll find out sooner or later. I'm very well-connected."

"I don't doubt you are, if you're with the Fleet Shadow of Fury," Kaidan sighed. "Orders are orders though."

As Alan threw up his arms in surrender, the loud whine of a jet engine could be heard overhead. All of a sudden a large, sleek-looking ship approached the platform and hovered above them, sending dust up into the air. The ship's design was not like any that Alan had seen in the UNSC fleet before, being long and slightly curved, not blocky or bulky or resembling any kind of firearm like the UNSC ships usually did; he assumed it was some kind of new model. Its colour was different too; rather than the usual khaki green it was coloured silver and blue. On its side, painted onto the hull, was the word _Normandy_.

"That's your ride, LT," Ashley said.

"I'd better get going too," Alan said, backing away. "Probably see you guys around the galaxy."

"You can bet on it," Kaidan replied, giving a quick salute as the _Serenity_ crew departed the platform. Alan suddenly remembered that Cujo was still on his commlink, and he turned to Alistair.

"Contact Bishop and tell him we need a pick-up, and to forward our own findings to the _Divine Journey_," he said, before turning back to his commlink. "Sorry about that, Cujo."

"_Forget about it,"_ Cujo said. _"Get yourselves back up here, and come to the Divine Journey. You can tell me what you saw down there in your debriefing, and there's a lot that needs to be discussed."_


	3. Picking Up the Pieces

**Picking up the Pieces**

Moments later, the _Serenity_ was once again leaving the atmosphere of Eden Prime, once again joining the silence of the eternal vacuum. The minutes passed in silence; it seemed that everyone wanted to wait until they were safely back with the fleet before discussing all that they had witnessed. The shock of the attack on the fleet was still very fresh in everyone's minds, and that was coupled with their thoughts over the many unanswered questions about the attack on the colony. Why had it been attacked? Somebody down there had wanted something very badly; Alan was sure that it was related to the 'classified information' that Lt. Alenko had hinted at. Of course, right now he couldn't think of what it might be; his more pressing issue was the fate of his comrades in the fleet.

As the ship approached the fleet, the crew were finally able to see the full extent of the damage, and none of them could believe their eyes. Only half of the ships remained; there was no trace of either the _Holy Justice_ or the _Transcending Vigilance_ anywhere, while large chunks of debris signified an assault carrier which could only be the _Regret and Reconciliation_. The most chilling sight was that of the super carrier _Shadow of Darkness_, the mighty flagship of the fleet. Blast burns could be seen on the ship's hull; the shields had to have been penetrated, as the hull had been breached in a few areas. As the _Serenity_ flew past, Alan saw that there was now a large hole on the bottom of the ship, the plating peeled away and exposing the interior. There were no lights on anywhere on the ship, and it was now drifting like a corpse down a river, fixed in orbit above the planet. Behind it were the _Divine Journey_ and _Righteous Fury_, both of which had somehow survived with only superficial damage.

"Good God..." Alistair breathed. "I just don't believe it... How can something take down a super carrier?"

"Try asking the crew of that ship..." replied José, trying to be sarcastic but not having the heart for it.

The ship was cleared to dock with the _Divine Journey_, and as the ship landed in the hangar they found it packed with both humans and Sangheili. Most of them looked injured, and several groaned while they were being treated. Others just looked utterly shell-shocked; it seemed all of them had as hard a time believing the attack had happened so swiftly as the _Serenity_ crew did.

The ramp leading to the _Serenity_'s cargo bay lowered, and only Alan stepped out into the hangar; the rest of his crew wanted to look around their medical supplies before going to assist the wounded. As he did so, a huge armoured Sangheili approached him at a rapid pace. Alan recognised the proverbial walking mountain as Dovi 'Canthon, the ship's Fieldmaster.

"Alan Tyler," said Dovi, in an urgent tone. "The other Shipmasters are holding conference on the bridge. Your presence is requested – nay, demanded."

Without even waiting for Alan to reply, he began to march away in the direction of the bridge. He was looking so agitated and moving at such a frantic pace that Alan had trouble keeping up with him. As they marched through the purple-coloured corridors, passing more and more of the wounded, Alan couldn't help but be alarmed by Dovi's expression, which looked as if every muscle in his face was tensed up. It looked like something was bothering him even more than the attack on the fleet, but Alan didn't dare to ask what.

When they reached the bridge, Dovi nodded curtly and marched back down the corridor without a word. Loud voices could already be heard even before Alan stepped through the door and onto the bridge itself.

"Any ship's movements can be tracked!" Telek was shouting. "I say we get after them now before the trail goes cold!"

"Get a grip on yourself, Telek!" Cujo shouted. "Do you honestly expect to defeat that thing with just two cruisers? And then there's the Geth to take into account!"

"The way I'm feeling right now," Telek spat, "I could tear King Ghidorah himself apart with my bare hands! You really think I give a flying shit about the Geth?"

"I'm not arguing this with you anymore, Telek," snarled Cujo. "You know as well as I do that there's no point chasing that thing right now. There's the matter of getting your ship back home, for starters!"

The two guards in front of the raised command platform parted as Alan approached, and the mutant strode up the ramp to find Telek, Cujo, Tulsa and Tom stood there. Tulsa and Tom were both stood slightly away from Telek and Cujo, who both seemed to have been having a blazing row. Telek threw his arms up in surrender and stood back from Cujo, crossing his arms and seething. As Alan peered around the group, the crushing realisation dawned on him that he was looking at the last remains of the Fleet Shadow of Fury. Everyone had been so pre-occupied with Telek's outburst that it was a few moments before Cujo noticed him.

"Oh, Alan," he said, sounding distracted. "Glad you got here safely."

"We all saw Bishop's report on what you found down there," said Tulsa. "Is it really true that you saw the Geth down there?"

"The Geth?" Alan repeated, looking confused. "That Alenko bloke said something about Geth..."

"Alenko?" Tom asked. "Was that Kaidan Alenko down there, by any chance? What was he doing?"

"There was a ship there we didn't know about," Alan replied. "Something called the _Normandy_. Kaidan was on it and, I'm guessing, helped to repel the attack. Wait, where do you know this Kaidan from?"

"Oh, that..." Tom said, scratching the back of his head. "I met with him and Davis when we were all studying Technomancy. He had more of a knack for it than either of us did, that's for sure."

"I'm sure that's all very fascinating," Telek interrupted, sounding highly irritated. "We have more pressing matters right now though, like... I dunno... the metal cuttlefish that just wiped out half the fucking fleet!"

"Right, right, sorry..." Alan quickly said. "Can you give me the rundown on what happened up here?"

"Well, after you left for the surface," Cujo said, "we tried to hold off the ship with what we had. I've never seen shields or weapons that were so powerful, though; we didn't even scratch it with our regular cannons, and it managed to cripple us before we could pull out the big guns. It was somehow able to confuse our targeting systems – I'm guessing it was able to do so by manipulating its mass effect fields – and it was able to pull turns that would have sheared any of our ships in half. I've never seen anything like it!"

"You already know that it got Mitsu," Tulsa said, quietly, his head hung low. "None of his crew made it. It would have got Tom as well if Wago hadn't moved his ship between him and that ship's weapons. I never would've expected the stupid git to pull a stunt like that; I take back some of the nasty things I ever said about him. Anyway, Wago got fried along with his ship and crew, but it bought Tom enough time to evacuate."

"Most of my crew made it off before the _Vigilance_ got toasted," Tom said. "Xovu and Aeko made it, but Davis..." At this, he went silent, closing his eyes. Alan didn't need to be told what had happened to the ginger-haired Technomancer.

"I'm really sorry, Tom..." Alan said quietly.

"As for the _Shadow of Darkness_," said Cujo, "the attacker managed to hack the ship's systems. It shut down all power, including to life-support. After it was done with that it opened fire a few times while the crew evacuated."

"How did it manage to cripple the systems?" Alan asked. "Aren't all the networks on a Sangheili ship closed?"

"Yes," Cujo nodded. "Unlike the rest of the galaxy, we don't believe in leaving our ships' networks open to wireless cyberwarfare. Not that it stopped this ship from evading our targeting systems and punching a hole in the bottom of the _Shadow_. From there it managed to somehow connect itself to the ship and hack the systems that way. We did get a lock-on with our systems while it was doing this, so it had to commit resources to the hacking, but it disconnected and went back into scramble mode before we could get a shot off. While everyone else evacuated, Telek grabbed a respirator and stayed on the bridge to try to hotwire it back into life, but no such luck. The systems are now completely dead, but at least they're fixable."

"Fixable, he says..." Telek muttered. "That could take months! It's like what Kiryuu did to the _Shade of Darkness_ all over again! How can this shit happen to the same guy twice? Did I ever tell you how much I really hate hackers?"

"Right now, you should be counting your blessings," Tulsa snarled. "Mitsu was like a brother to me, but Cujo's right. We're not gonna achieve anything going after that ship except getting everyone killed."

Telek looked as if he wanted to argue, or at least come up with a real crusher of an insult. However, he stayed silent, apparently thinking better of it. Alan knew just how attached Telek was to his ship; he was practically married to it. That, unfortunately, was clearly clouding his judgement at this point.

"Anyway," Tom said, in an effort to break up the awkward silence. "What are the Geth exactly? Those robots that attacked Alan's team on the surface?"

"Got it in one," Cujo said. "They haven't been seen this side of the Perseus Veil in about three centuries. None of us could have seen this coming."

"What are they, anyway?" Alan asked, regaining his composure. "Where do they come from?"

"They were originally made by the Quarians about seven of your centuries ago," said Tulsa. "They were originally built as a source of slave labour. Well, you know how widely AIs are mistrusted outside of Earth, so they were built as VIs; as advanced as possible without becoming sentient, and programmed to function better when they were networked together in large numbers. This turned out to be a bad idea, for it was through their network that they began to gain sentience and started asking awkward questions like 'Am I alive?' or 'Does this unit have a soul?'

"To put it simply, the Quarians freaked at this, and ordered that all Geth units be shut down before they thought of revolting against their masters, which ironically is exactly what they did to save themselves. This started the Geth War, which ended with the Quarians being kicked off their home planet and their colonies and forced to drift in the Migrant Fleet, while the Geth isolated themselves beyond the Perseus Veil until just now. If you ask me, the Quarians brought it on themselves when they hit the panic button; look what nearly happened in Earth's history, when the Utah Foundation did just that!"

"Whether the Quarians deserved it or not," Cujo interrupted, "the fact is that the Geth are here now, and from what we've seen they're not interested in co-existing with organics. Judging from that ship they've been busy preparing the strongest warships they can, and we're all in serious trouble if there are more of those things out there."

"Something else has occurred to me," Alan quickly said. "Something exploded on Eden Prime. When I asked Kaidan about this he said it related to some confidential matter or another. I'm wondering if that has any bearing on why the Geth picked that planet in-particular."

"Now that you've mentioned it," Cujo muttered, "the choice of location is rather suspect. The Geth have come an awfully long way just to attack a few colonists. I think it's safe to assume that there was more to that planet than meets the eye." A few moments of silence followed, before Telek finally spoke again, having regained some of his composure.

"Not that I know what good it'll do to find out," he drawled, "but I'll pull some strings at ONI, find out what they were up to there. I also don't think it's a coincidence that this _Normandy_ was there. How did an Earth vessel beat us to Eden Prime when we couldn't see it on our scanners or bandwidths? There's something we're missing here."

"We've been focusing all our attention on the war against the Covenant holdouts," Cujo said reasonably. "It's only safe to assume we've fallen a bit behind the times on developments from Earth."

"First things first, though," Telek interrupted, clapping his hands together, "we get my ship back to Sanghelios. The sooner we get her to port, the sooner she can be back at the head of the fleet."

"I already got a message out to Sanghelios," said Cujo. "They're sending the _Silent Wrath_ to tow the _Shadow_. We'd better alert the Sangheili High Council as well. If there are more of those Geth ships out there we need to increase patrols in the Orion Arm. You'd better talk to Lord Hood about them as well, make sure Earth's forces are prepared."

"I'd figured that out for myself, thanks, Cujo," Telek said in a snide tone. "I suppose I'd better see if they've got a loaner on Sanghelios as well. I'd just finished working out her kinks as well..."

"At least she can be healed," said Tom, sadly. "The _Vigilance_ is nothing but dust now. No ship that Earth has will feel like her."

"I could always use a second-in-command, Tom," said Telek, managing to smile. "At least until you get your own ship."

"You got it, Skipper," replied Tom. With that, Telek turned to Alan.

"I don't doubt that the crew of this _Normandy_ will make its own reports," said Telek, "but I think Kiryuu would wanna hear about what happened from your perspective. I want you to get to the Citadel and make your report to the embassy, and even to the Council, if need be. If that ship could even punch through Sangheili dreadnoughts, the Turian and Asari ships definitely won't stand a chance in a straight fight. I've no love for the Council, but they've gotta know what they're up against."

"I wouldn't feel right leaving the fleet right now," Alan objected. "Can't we just send our reports electronically?"

"You could do that, kid," replied Telek, "but I think it'd be better that he hears it from you in-person, straight from the changeling's mouth. If anyone, whether it be the Council or that dick of a human ambassador tries to contradict your report, you can be there to put 'em straight. If you wanna pay respects to the people we lost, that can wait; the news about the Geth and their new toy can't."

"Alright," Alan sighed. "I'll get there as quickly as _Serenity_'s engines will allow."

"Alright, people," Telek barked, clapping his hands. "You've all got your assignments. The Geth messed with my ship, my fleet and my favourite humans, but they sure as hell ain't gonna get away with it. Let's get this show on the road! Chop chop!"

As the Shipmaster left to their various stations, Alan caught up to Cujo.

"Cujo," he said, "I couldn't help but notice Dovi earlier. I know we've just been through hell, but he looks even edgier than anyone else."

Cujo sighed, looking towards the corridor before leaning in closer to Alan.

"It's Shri," he said. "When the _Shadow_ was being evacuated and fired upon, she was caught in an explosion and badly injured. She'll be fine, but you know how protective Dovi is of her. I just hope he doesn't try to dissuade her from serving on a ship in the future, otherwise he'll be the one in the infirmary. Just don't bring the subject up around him, not even to comfort him; I think he can take it for granted that we're sending her our well-wishes. Anyway, you'd better get going; we'll be heading to the relay and making the jump to Sanghelios soon."

Alan nodded and quickly saluted, before sprinting down the corridors back to the hangar. Working his way through the crowded floor of stricken Sangheili, he reached his ship to find his crew waiting for him.

"Saddle up, people," Alan barked. "We're heading to the Citadel."

"I expected we'd have to go there sooner or later," Alistair said, as he helped José move a large crate up the ramp and into the cargo bay. "Just let us get this into the cargo bay..."

"You don't really think the Council will do anything, do ya?" asked José in a sceptical tone. "You know humans are pretty much the bottom feeders, by their books."

"I know," Alan replied. "Still, these Geth are a threat to everyone. I'll fill you in on what I found out on the way. Any luck tending to the injured?"

"We've had some success," a woman's voice said from Alan's left. She was a small, wiry-looking woman with pale skin, short black hair and wearing a dark blue boiler suit. She looked over at Alan with rather large brown eyes as she pressed some of the holographic buttons on her omni-tool. "We stabilised the more critical cases and gave some shots of morphine to the hysterical ones. We managed to reduce the strain on the Sangheili medics for a while; Erin 'Venam looks like he's on the brink of a nervous collapse."

"That poor guy gets way too little credit for what he does," said Alan. "Anyway, Call, we'll be leaving soon, so better get the engines fired up."

"Speaking of which," Call chimed in, and Alan groaned. He knew what was coming next, as the new engineer had brought up the subject at least once a week ever since she arrived on the ship a month ago. She, like Bishop, was an android, and therefore rather less approving of the various unofficial modifications that their previous engineer, Rachel Tam, had made to the engine.

"Why don't you let me fix the engine up?" Call continued, just as Alan had predicted. "I'm surprised the ship hasn't blown up because of the frankly dangerous modifications my predecessor made."

"I'll tell you the same thing now that I told you last time you asked," snapped Alan. "Those dangerous modifications got us out beyond the galaxy and back, and survived a war that stretched up and down the Orion Arm. Show Rachel some respect; you've got a lot to live up to."

"No need to be rude, Captain," Call said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm disrespecting Rachel, but I'd just feel safer if-"

"You're doing it again," Alan interrupted. "The sooner you admit you're not going to win this argument, the sooner we'll all be able to get along. Now get to your post."

"Aye-aye, Captain," said Call, trying to sound apologetic but not succeeding. As she headed through the door to the common room José glared after her, lowering the crate so quickly that Alistair almost got pulled down with it.

"Fucking spark-plug," he muttered. "At least Bishop doesn't look at you like something he just stepped in. I wish Rachel was here."

"You know as well as anyone that she's in no condition to be working on a ship right now," said Alan. "I don't like this either, but we'll have to put up with it. Who knows; maybe she'll get the message and try to fit in more someday."

"You're asking for a miracle, amigo," replied José, as he, Alan and Alistair made their way up to the bridge.

0

Mass Relays had gone undiscovered by humans until a mere five years previously, and were often cited as the most important discovery of the Forerunner era since the Halos. Through their use, provided a ship had a compatible slip-space drive, they were capable of transporting ships instantaneously between two connected relays; journeys to the other side of the galaxy that had previously taken months or even years could now be completed in seconds.

To Alan's mind, they reminded him of gigantic tuning forks, as the _Serenity_ approached the colossal structure, floating serenely on the edge of what the human pioneers called the Utopia system. The glowing blue Element Zero core housed at the centre of the relay shone like a beacon in the darkness of space. Mere moments ago the Sangheili super carrier _Silent Wrath_ had arrived to tow the _Shadow of Darkness_ back home, with the two surviving cruisers following close behind. They had used the relay to propel themselves forward at speeds beyond even those of the fastest slip-space drives, and now the _Serenity_ crew were preparing to do the same.

"Transmitting co-ordinates and mass yield..." Bishop said, as he manipulated the pilot's console like a seasoned professional. Alan, stood just behind him, gripped the back of Bishop's chair.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to these relays..." he muttered.

"They may just require a period of adjustment," Bishop said reasonably. "We have not had many opportunities to use them since we have been fighting in the war. Transmission accepted. Now moving alongside and preparing to jump in 3... 2..."

As the tiny ship drew alongside the relay, a stream of blue energy shot out of the relay core and bathed the ship in the same blue-white glow. On the bridge a loud whining sound raised in pitch as the glow became more intense. Suddenly there was a loud noise like a thunderclap and the ship suddenly lurched forward as it blasted forward at blinding speed. Everything in front of Alan on the bridge seemed to warp and distort, as if the ship was struggling to keep up with itself.

After a few seconds, the stretching feeling stopped, and the intact _Serenity_ slowed down, drifting through the gaseous Serpent Nebula, the mist surrounding them a strange purple colour. The ship flew straight onward through the fog, and a few brief moments later the enormous Citadel came into view. The station was gigantic, with five arms that stretched away from a large inner ring. Each arm was lit up with millions of lights, as each housed a huge city in its own right. The entire station was over 45 kilometres long and had a diameter of nearly 13 kilometres. Behind the station the Widow star could be seen, casting its soft light on the station and the mist around it. This was only the third time in five years that Alan had seen the Citadel; the war had meant that he had not had many opportunities to travel there or to Earth.

Minutes later, the _Serenity_ was safely docked on the central Presidium ring, and everybody stepped off onto the station. Not wanting to waste time navigating the labyrinth of public elevators on the station, the team decided to pay the extra credits for a faster taxi shuttle to take them straight to the ambassadorial embassies. At the shuttle bay, however, José broke off from the group.

"I wanna head down to Zakera Ward," he had said. "We haven't had any chances to come here since we dropped Rachel off here. I'm gonna pay her a visit."

"Sure thing, mate," Alan replied. "Give her our love while you're there."

"I will, amigo," José nodded. "Still don't know why she wouldn't go to an Earth hospital, though. I don't trust these aliens poking about with our body parts."

"You know what Rachel said," Alan shrugged. "She'd seen Earth and wanted to spend more time somewhere she didn't know. I thought you of all people would be used to the way her mind works by now."

José departed for Zakera Ward shortly after this exchange, while the others took a separate shuttle to the embassies on the Presidium. While there were countless races in the galaxy, only a few of them had embassies on the Citadel. Not every race wanted to maintain ties with the Council, and now only four races did so; the large lumbering Elcor, the squat and cunning Volus, the enigmatic jellyfish-like Hanar, and the newest addition being the peoples of Earth.

Upon arrival at the embassy building, Alan quickly asked the Asari receptionist for directions, and promptly followed them up to the Earth embassy, while the others decided to wait at the embassy lounge. The Volus had made various open complaints about the Earth embassy getting its own office, while they had to share an office with the Elcor in spite of helping to set up a standardised galactic economy. The office was on the second floor, and listening on this side of the door Alan could hear three voices in the middle of a rather heated discussion:

"How could you encourage Shepard to turn to the Shadow Broker?" one voice said angrily. "Do the words 'political shit-storm' mean nothing to you?"

"Better that than deal with Harkin," a calmer, but no less authoritative voice, responded. "I wouldn't trust that lowlife as far as I could throw him. Frankly I'm amazed he hasn't been fired from C-Sec already. Besides, every high-ranking official's turned to the Shadow Broker at least once; it'd be hypocritical to call her out on it."

"Knight," the harsher-sounding voice said furiously, "you cannot seriously support what Anderson is saying?"

"I am not getting involved in this argument, Udina," a deep, grand voice that Alan recognised said. "Our only concern should be that Shepard is able to find the proof we're looking for that can convince the Council to listen to us. Frankly I don't care how she does it, whether she goes to the Shadow Broker, Harkin or Dunkelzahn himself."

Deciding that his news couldn't wait for the sake of politeness, Alan opened the sliding door and stepped inside. He saw that the Earth embassy was one of the larger rooms in the block. It was sparsely furnished; two desks and chairs, three comm. terminals lined against one of the walls and large wall murals depicting the insignias of the United Nations Space Command and the Orion Alliance. The most impressive thing about the room was the large balcony that covered the entire back wall opposite the door, which looked out over the lush, garden-like Presidium.

Three people were in the room, two of them human. Both were dark-skinned, but one was evidently older, with lines on his face, greying hair and was dressed in a smart white suit with a blue turtleneck jumper. The other was wearing a blue, highly-decorated military uniform, and still looked youthful in spite of signs of age. The third figure, however, resembled a bio-mechanical dinosaur, wearing an immaculate dark suit (which, Alan was told, was based on the attire of the Forerunners) over gleaming silver armour and with a long tail snaking behind him. His head was exposed, revealing a grey-scaled, reptilian head, with long emerald-green dreadlocks emerging from the top. The dreadlocks were not made from hair, but from the cybernetic muscle known as bio-syntech, developed by the medical conglomerate the Utah Foundation nearly six centuries ago. All three peered round at Alan as he strode into the room; the older human in-particular looked highly indignant.

"What is this?" he snarled irritably. "Have you no concept of how to knock-"

"Alan?" the mechanical reptile interrupted, speaking in the deep voice that Alan had heard before. This was Kiryuu Knight, the original Godzilla reborn as a sentient artificial intelligence housed in a cybernetic body. He had had many 'jobs' over his illustrious career, and now he was Earth's ambassador on the Citadel. Well, he was one of the ambassadors; due to the Council mistrusting AIs he had to bring in a human counterpart to placate them. Ever since the experiments which had driven Alan into his present state, he and Kiryuu had come to regard each other as family, in spite of the very rocky beginning to their relationship over five hundred years ago.

"Alan!" Kiryuu roared jovially. He advanced upon Alan and shook his claw firmly. "It's been too long!"

"Good to see you, granddad," Alan replied. "I never thought I'd hear myself saying that."

Kiryuu chuckled at this. "So the last of the Covenant hold-outs have surrendered?" he asked. "We heard it on the news-feeds yesterday."

"Too right," Alan said. "We were going to celebrate, but that got cut a bit short."

"You're talking about Eden Prime, correct?" asked Kiryuu, his expression falling. "Yes, we've heard the reports from the crew of the _Normandy_, and Commander Shepard's strike team. I'd offer you a seat, but I'm afraid we're rather short of chairs in here. It's best that you hear everything."

"Mr. Knight, is that wise?" the elder human suddenly said. "However close you are to someone, the information about the Eden Prime mission still requires the highest ONI security clearance. It should only be given strictly on a need-to-know basis."

"Alan," Kiryuu said wearily, "I am sure you have met my human 'counterpart', Donnel Udina." He rounded on Ambassador Udina. "If you are at all familiar with Alan's history, you will already know that he flies with the Fleet Shadow of Fury. That fleet is commanded by Supreme Commander Telek 'Heros. I am sure that name will be familiar to you, as he is also one of our highest-ranking officers in ONI. By extension, that means Alan has clearance to review the mission details, assuming he intends to pass the information on to his superior officer." He gave a small wink at Alan. Of course the changeling had no intention of leaving Telek in the dark, and he nodded at Kiryuu.

"That is surely all the more reason to prohibit his access," Udina retorted. "The Elites should no longer be involved in what is purely a matter for Earth and her interests."

"Meaning no disrespect, Ambassador," said the other human, "but that's where you're wrong. See, we spotted three Elite dreadnoughts in orbit above Eden Prime, along with the wreckage of at least one more. If they encountered the same ship that our strike team did, then that makes this a matter for the entire Orion Alliance. I'm sure the Elites would not appreciate being left in the dark on this matter, not when we have the information to hand." At this statement Kiryuu nodded appreciatively, while Udina furrowed his brow.

"Perhaps," he said begrudgingly. "All the same, I would feel better knowing that this exchange of information was being given in humanity's best interests, not those of the Elites."

"Not that I was looking for your seal of approval," shrugged Kiryuu, "but I am glad that we've reached an understanding." He motioned Alan over to the human who he didn't know. "Alan, I'd like to introduce you to David Anderson, captain of the _UNSCSV_ _Normandy SR-1_. Just the _Normandy_ will do. He can answer any questions you have about the ship and the mission."

"First things first," said Alan, seizing the opportunity before Udina could interrupt. "What does the SR-1 stand for?"

"Stealth Reconnaissance 1," came Anderson's prompt reply. "The ship's the result of a joint project between the United Nations Space Command and the Turian Hierarchy. To be more specific, Saeder-Krupp were contracted to work on this project with the top Turian engineers. It's a working prototype that just rolled off the production lines at Reach. It contains a modified version of the lithium heat-sink technology that we 'borrowed' from what was left of the Tauri Alliance, meaning we can store our ship's heat emissions for a time and prevent our ship from showing up on scanners. It's also powered by an experimental new drive core known as the Tantalus Drive; it allows us to generate mass concentrations that the ship 'falls into', meaning we can run the ship without needing heat-emitting thrusters. It also lets us move through slip-space for much longer than even most Elite warships before the core has to be ejected."

"Hmm, that stealth system must be why we didn't pick it up on our scanners," said Alan.

"It doesn't work when we're going at slip-space speeds though," Anderson added. "Slip-space travel blue-shifts our emissions beyond the point they can be safely stored. Also, it's not a true cloaking device like what the Elites have. Anyone looking out of a window can see us, but let's be honest; it's not that easy to get a visual out there in the Black. The ship can remain in silent running for about 3 hours before we have to eject the stored heat emissions, otherwise we get cooked inside our own hull."

"Yikes," Alan chuckled. "Remind me not to try that with the _Serenity_; I don't think the old girl could handle it."

"Well, anyway," Anderson said, "the official line was that the _Normandy_ would be heading to Eden Prime for a shakedown run, to test the stealth systems."

"Who believes the official line, though?" Alan asked wryly.

"Certainly not my crew," Anderson chuckled. "Nothing gets past them. I suspect the presence of the Council Spectre, Nihlus Kryik, on board was a giveaway."

"Anderson," cut in Udina in a rather rude tone. "I fail to see how any of this was a laughing matter. Just tell Mr. Tyler what he needs to know."

"We need to take any amusement that we can right now, Udina," Anderson said, his face becoming more serious. "Still, there is a great deal that you need to understand, Captain. You're right in that the official line was not our actual mission. An excavation team on Eden Prime had uncovered a valuable artefact. We didn't know for certain what it was; only that it was of Forerunner origin, and our mission was to bring it back to the Citadel for study. Nihlus was on board to oversee the mission and evaluate a potential Spectre candidate."

"Now I see why you'd want this under wraps," Alan mused. "You couldn't risk something like that falling into the wrong hands."

"Exactly," Kiryuu chimed in. "From what the science team could ascertain from further studies, it was some kind of beacon, perhaps a data cache. It could have been the greatest opportunity we have had so far in researching Forerunner technology. Who knew what kind of information it contained; it could have told about new medical technologies, ship drives, defence technology or even weaponry. It could have told us anything that could have given us an edge when King Ghidorah returns."

"You're still fixated on the possible return of that monster, Knight?" Udina asked, shrewdly. "He has not been seen in five years. We have no reason to believe that he will return soon."

"Need I remind you, Udina," said Kiryuu, glaring stonily at the human ambassador and speaking in a tone of cold fury, "that I have seen King Ghidorah return in many forms throughout the centuries. You are nothing more than a mere human with an incredibly limited lifespan compared to my own. My near-immortality allows me to wait and plan for any sort of possibility that that thing may return, and when he does I will make sure that Earth remains on its toes. You would do well to remember that, as I will keep planning and preparing long after you are dust and a fading memory."

Everything fell silent for a moment. The subject of King Ghidorah was a very touchy one for Kiryuu, who had spent so long trying to find ways to prevent the monster from coming back, suffering personal loss at his hands. Alan spoke again, trying to break the awkward silence and changing the subject.

"So it's a good bet that the Geth invaded the planet for that beacon," he said.

"I have no doubts about it," Anderson said. "Damn-near destroyed the colony to do it. If we hadn't been there, things could have turned out a lot worse than they did. The secret of the beacon would have died with it."

"Did you actually find out what was in it?" Alan asked.

"As a matter of fact, we did," said Anderson. "Commander Shepard and her team found the beacon, but they must have triggered something when they moved closer to examine it. Moments before it detonated, it implanted a vision of some kind in Shepard's mind. What she saw is unclear, but from what she could tell us she claims she saw a synthetic race – perhaps the Geth – slaughtering living creatures."

"The Geth were after the Forerunners' time," Alan cut in. "It couldn't have been them, unless the Forerunners happened to be fortune tellers."

"I'm afraid all we can do about that matter at this point is speculate, Alan," said Kiryuu. "We can tell you another very important fact. The leader of the Geth, and the one responsible for the attack, is a Turian Spectre named Saren Arterius. I believe you have worked with him before, Captain Anderson?"

"I wish that wasn't the case," sighed Anderson. "Saren is dangerous, and he hates humans with a passion. We don't know what his intentions could be for allying with the Geth or what his plans were for the beacon, but we can be sure that it's bad news for humanity. If he could even go so far as to murder Nihlus, his own protégé, then that shows how far gone he is."

"Sounds like a nasty piece of work," Alan said. "Has he been arrested?" At this Udina released a dark, nasty laugh.

"They won't lift a damn scaly finger without definitive proof," he spat. "I only hope that Shepard can pull off a miracle on that front."

"We dispatched Shepard and her team to find any evidence that connected Saren to the attack," Anderson said. "Let's hope that their investigation turns up something. I can't stand the thought of Saren getting away with what he did down there."

"So I guess we can't do anything except wait for word from this 'Shepard' then," Alan sighed. "I might as well tell you how I got mixed up in all this."

With that, Alan recounted his experiences on Eden Prime, and of what happened to the Fleet Shadow of Fury. When Alan described the ship the fleet had encountered Kiryuu looked very worried, and when he told of what had happened to the _Shadow of Darkness_, the ambassador's shock became apparent.

"The _Shadow of Darkness_ was crippled?" he exclaimed, as if he didn't dare to believe it. "Are Telek and his crew alright?"

"Telek's fine," Alan replied. "So are most of his crew. The survivors have returned to Sanghelios. They'll be making their reports to the High Council now."

"I shall have to seek an audience with them myself," Kiryuu said. "If this Geth warship is as powerful as you say it is, then we must properly coordinate our defences with the Sangheili in case there are any more of such ships out there."

"If you can do that," Anderson chimed in, "maybe you can persuade them to put aside their pride long enough to do the same with the Council fleets. We'll need all the help we can get if the Geth are really launching an invasion."

"We'll be lucky to accomplish that, Captain," said Kiryuu darkly. "The Sangheili are rather unpopular with the galactic community for what they did during their time with the Covenant. None of them like the idea of the Sangheili having such a large fleet of dreadnoughts. The Turians in-particular have no love for them. They say the Sangheili rely too much on the power and brute force of their ships, to compensate for a lack of tactical capability. I would certainly like to hear them try saying that again after being engaged in war with them for nearly thirty years."

Just then, a loud beeping sound came from the door. Someone was outside and wanted to come in.

"Thank God someone still remembers how to use a doorbell," Udina muttered. "Enter."

The door slid open, and six people entered the room. Three of them were the same strike team Alan had encountered on Eden Prime. Kaidan Alenko and Ashley Williams were present, and leading them was the now-awake Kaelyn Shepard. Now that she was awake, Alan could see her emerald-green eyes, and she had a confident stride and a face full of energy.

The other three figures consisted of aliens. One was a Turian, tall and with spindly limbs, his face covered in off-white scales and carrying the same cruel, skull-like expression of all Turians. He was wearing an electronic visor that covered one eye, and Alan recognised the blue and black uniform of a Citadel Security officer.

The second alien was a Krogan, a hunchbacked reptilian creature that resembled a tortoise. He was wearing maroon combat armour and had a scar running down one side of his face and the red, crown-like bone plate on his head. He peered around with blazing red eyes. The third figure was a thin female Quarian, dressed in an ornate black and purple environment suit that kept her face concealed inside her helmet. No part of her skin showed at all. Shepard walked towards Anderson, Alan and the ambassadors, while the others spread themselves out around the room, with Kaidan and Ashley moving to enjoy the view from the balcony.

"Ah, Shepard," Anderson said. "I hope you bring some good news back with you."

"Hopefully something more than an entourage of aliens," Udina muttered. Kiryuu rolled his eyes.

_See what I have to put up with, Alan?_ Kiryuu said in Alan's mind. The bio-mechanical reptile was an accomplished psychic, but these days that was an ability he tried to keep low-key.

"Take it easy, Ambassador," Shepard said, calmly. "We've got everything we need to get the Council on our side. I guess I'd better get the introductions out the way first of all, though." She looked over at Alan. "You're Captain Tyler, right? Kaidan told me all about you and the Fleet Shadow of Fury. I didn't think the Fleet would have picked up the transmission."

"I'm sorry we couldn't get there sooner," Alan replied, as the two shook hands. "You look like you handled yourselves alright though."

"She's practically a one-woman army, Captain," said Kaidan, speaking up from by the balcony.

"I remember you, Officer Vakarian," Kiryuu said to the Turian, bowing politely. "I trust your investigation has been successful?"

"You got that right, Ambassador," the Turian replied, his voice cool and measured. "I'd love to see that slippery bastard Saren sleaze his way outta this one."

"Alan," said Kiryuu, pointing to the Turian, "this is Garrus Vakarian. He was the officer in C-Sec assigned to look into our allegations against Saren Arterius. I think it's safe to assume that he's been successful now, thanks to Shepard. I hope Executor Pallin is ready to eat his own words."

"Who is this?" asked Udina, glaring at the Krogan with a very mistrusting look. The Krogan returned a similarly hostile glare which would have caused any lesser man to tremble.

""This is Urdnot Wrex," Shepard said. "He was hired by the Shadow Broker to deal with Fist, the owner of Chora's Den down in the Wards. Fist double-crossed the Shadow Broker by trying to sell our evidence to Saren. Seems Wrex has some history with Saren as well, which is why he's stuck with us right now."

"Is that so?" said Kiryuu. "Would you care to elaborate, Mr. Wrex?"

"Don't get so polite with me, Ambassador," Wrex drawled in a deep, guttural voice. "I don't go for that shit. And no, I don't care to elaborate. All I'll say is that I knew Saren was trouble from when I first laid eyes on him. Anyone who's taking him on must be very brave or very stupid. I wanna see which one you are."

"If that's your choice, Urdnot Wrex," said Kiryuu. Alan noticed an odd crooked smile on Kiryuu's snout, which was usually a tell-tale sign that he was up to something. Alan was sure that even now he was peeking inside Wrex's mind, trying to find the connection between the Krogan and Saren.

"I trust that the situation was resolved with tact and restraint?" asked Udina dubiously. "If your resolution of the situation was anything like that on Eden Prime..."

"Fist's thugs left me no choice," Shepard said, her arms folded. "If there had been any choice other than to gun them all down, I would have taken it."

"Damnit, Shepard," Udina snarled. "You're not making my life any easier. Do you have any idea how-" He fell silent as he noticed the Quarian, who seemed to be trying to make herself look as inconspicuous as possible. "Who is this Quarian? What are you up to, Shepard?"

"It's your lucky day, Ambassador," Shepard replied. "She's got information that Saren was willing to kill her over, so I'd say it's the evidence we need."

"Is that so?" Kiryuu asked, looking very interested. He approached the Quarian and smiled. "You had better start from the beginning, Miss..."

However, the Quarian remained silent. She seemed to be trying to look in any direction other than straight at Kiryuu and fidgeted nervously. As Kiryuu drew closer she stepped away from him. Alan couldn't see her face, but he could imagine her looking very worried. After a few seconds the light of understanding dawned in Kiryuu's eyes.

"I tried to put her at ease before we got here, Ambassador," Shepard explained. "I explained what you were and that you weren't a threat, but I don't think she's convinced."

"Please forgive me, Miss," Kiryuu said gently to the Quarian. "I know that your race has a bad history with rampant AIs, and I understand your unease. I assure you, however, that I am not the Geth; my dedication to the safety of this galaxy is beyond altruistic. I desire to protect all life because I wish to, not because of what I was told in my programming code. Now I am asking you for your help, so that I can continue to protect the peoples of this galaxy from any that would seek to harm them. I would never be so presumptuous as to expect acceptance from all Quarians at this point; all I am asking for is the chance to bring a known criminal to justice, and I need your help to do this. Please find it in your heart to give this AI a chance to prove his worth."

The Quarian shuffled nervously, looking back at Shepard's face. The commander gave an encouraging nod, and a few moments later she slowly turned her helmeted head to look Kiryuu in the eye.

"My... my name is Tali," the Quarian stammered, her voice having a slight electronic quality to it from speaking through air filters and having peculiar hints of a Russian accent. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"We don't see many Quarians here," Kiryuu said politely. "What brings you here from the Flotilla?"

"I was on my Pilgrimage," Tali replied. "My rite of passage into adulthood."

"I've never heard of this before," said Kiryuu.

"It is a tradition among my people," Tali explained, still sounding nervous. "When we reach maturity, we leave the ships of our parents and our people behind. We wander the stars, only returning to the Flotilla once we have discovered something of value. In this way, we prove ourselves worthy of adulthood."

"What kinds of things do you look for?" asked Kiryuu.

"It could be useful resources," said Tali, "like food or fuel, or some type of useful technology, or even knowledge that would make life easier on the Flotilla. Through our Pilgrimage, we prove that we will contribute to the community, rather than being a burden on our limited resources."

"I see," Kiryuu said, sounding impressed. "Please, continue, Ms. Tali. What evidence were you able to find against Saren, and how did you get it?"

"During my travels," said Tali, her confidence beginning to pick up a little, "I began to hear reports about the Geth. Since they drove my people into exile, the Geth have never ventured beyond the Veil. I was curious. I tracked a patrol of Geth to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit, then I disabled it and removed its memory core."

"I thought the Geth fried their memory cores when they died," said Anderson. "Some kind of defence mechanism."

"How did you manage to preserve it?" asked Shepard.

"My people created the Geth," replied Tali. "If you're quick, careful and lucky, small caches of data can be saved. Most of the core was wiped clean, but I salvaged something from its audio banks."

With that, Tali brought up the holographic controls on her Omni-Tool and began to manipulate the controls. Within seconds, a recording played back, as a cold and cruel male voice spoke:

"_Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."_

"That's Saren's voice!" Anderson exclaimed. "This proves that he was involved in the attack!"

"There's your evidence right there, Kiryuu," Alan said, smirking. Kiryuu, however, looked over at Anderson, looking thoughtful.

"This 'Conduit' that Saren mentioned must have something to do with the beacon," he said. "It could be some kind of Forerunner weapon. If he's looking for it, we can't let him get his hands on it!"

"Wait, there's more," Tali stammered. "Saren wasn't working alone." She pressed more buttons on her Omni-Tool, and within seconds all of the assembled people in the room heard the second half of the recording:

"_And one step closer to the return of the Reapers,"_ a cold, clinical female voice said.

"I don't recognise that other voice," said Udina, shaking his head.

"I do," said Kiryuu, now looking very worried. "That voice belongs to Matriarch Benezia."

"Who's she?" asked Alan.

"I met her a few months ago, right here on the Citadel," said Kiryuu. "Matriarchs are Asari who have entered the final stage of their lives. Revered for their knowledge and wisdom, they serve as guides to their people. Benezia approached me out of curiosity rather than malice. She was one of the very few aliens who wanted to try to understand what I was and how I was able to integrate myself so well in organic society. She was delightful company, but I sensed at the time that something was troubling her which she did not elaborate upon. This recording..." He sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "I cannot believe that this voice belongs to the same person. I cannot believe that she would go along with Saren's plans, whatever they are, by her own choice."

"I feel like I've heard the name 'Reapers' before..." said Alan. A dim memory had surfaced, of nightmares of the electronic world known as the Matrix that Alan had tried to forget.

"I doubt these Reapers are connected to the one you are thinking of," Kiryuu said to him, before turning to Tali. "Is there any record in galactic history of the term 'Reaper'?"

"According to the memory core," replied Tali, "the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed about 40,000 years ago."

"40,000 years ago..." Kiryuu mused. "That was around the same time as when the Halos were fired... "

"The data says that the Reapers hunted the Protheans – your Forerunners – to extinction, and then they vanished!" said Tali. "At least that's what the Geth believe."

"Impossible," said Kiryuu. "The Forerunners had to activate the Halos and commit suicide to stop the Flood from spreading. We have not come across any record they kept of 'Reapers'!"

"I'm not so sure, Ambassador," Shepard said. "The vision on Eden Prime... I understand it now. I saw the Forerunners being wiped out by the Reapers!"

"There must be more to the story than we were led to believe," Alan said reasonably to Kiryuu. "Maybe there's an archive we missed somewhere. That's assuming these things even exist..."

"Whether they existed or not," said Tali, "the Geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life, and they believe Saren knows how to bring the Reapers back."

"The Council is just going to love this..." Udina muttered.

"The Reapers are a threat to every living thing in Citadel Space," said Shepard forcefully. "We have to tell them about this!"

"No matter what they think about the rest of this," Anderson said, "those audio files prove Saren's a traitor!"

"The Captain's right," nodded Udina. "We need to present this evidence to the Council right away."

"What about her?" asked Ashley, pointing at Tali. "The Quarian?"

"My name is Tali!" replied Tali, sounding highly indignant, before addressing Shepard. "You saw me in the alley, Commander. You know what I can do. Let me come with you!"

"I thought you were on your Pilgrimage?" Shepard asked.

"The Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give ourselves to the greater good!" said Tali. "What does it say about me if I turn my back on this? Saren is a danger to the entire galaxy; my Pilgrimage can wait."

Shepard stood looking thoughtful for a moment, then she nodded.

"I'll take all the help I can get," she said.

"Thanks," said Tali. "You won't regret this."

"Anderson, Udina and I will go on ahead to get things ready with the Council," said Kiryuu, addressing both Alan and Shepard. "Take a few minutes for your teams to get to know each other, then meet us in the Citadel Tower." He turned to face Anderson and Udina. "If you will follow me, gentlemen..."

With that, the two ambassadors and Captain Anderson walked straight out of the room, leaving Alan with the _Normandy_ team. Tali slumped against the wall, letting out a sigh.

"I hope I don't have to speak to your ambassador more than is necessary," she said. "I don't know if my nerves could take it!"

"Well, guess I'd better get my team together then," said Alan, as he led the _Normandy_ team out of the office and towards the lounge. "Looks like another round of introductions is in order."

"Indeed," said Shepard. "We've all heard a lot about the Fleet Shadow of Fury and everyone who flies in it. I wanna see if the people can live up to the legends."

"I didn't get into this job to get famous, Commander," Alan said.

"I don't know anyone who did," replied Shepard, with a wry smile.


	4. Phantoms and Spectres

**Phantoms and Spectres**

Fifteen minutes later, after the crews of the _Serenity_ and _Normandy_ had been formally introduced to each other, Alan and Shepard were stepping out of the long elevator and into the main Council chambers of the Citadel Tower. It was a magnificent space, as vast as a cathedral with a very high ceiling. A fountain could be seen in the central lobby area, as well as many plants. The two had decided that only they would need to be present for this new hearing with the Council, and as they moved up the steps to the main Council area they saw Captain Anderson waiting for them.

"Come on," he said to them both. "Knight and Udina are presenting Tali's evidence to the Council now."

The recording was now playing all around the trio as they stepped into the Council Chamber itself. They stepped onto a long walkway suspended over a rock garden, with Kiryuu and Udina waiting for them. Opposite them, stood in front of vast windows that looked out over the Serpent Nebula, were the three alien Councillors themselves; one a dark-scaled Turian in navy-blue and red clothing, one a blue-skinned Asari with white markings and an elegant red and white dress, the third a grey-skinned, large-eyed Salarian with a long hooded cloak lined with red and gold. As the recording faded, Udina stepped forward.

"You wanted proof?" he said, in a challenging tone. "There it is!"

"This evidence is irrefutable, Ambassadors," said Councillor Valern, the Turian Councillor, sounding rather defeated. "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status, and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes."

"Matriarch Benezia's defection complicates matters further," said Councillor Tevos, the Asari Councillor, sounding worried. "She is a powerful biotic and she had many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren."

"I'm more interested in the Reapers," said Councillor Ikram, the Salarian Councillor. "What do you know about them?"

"Only what was extracted from the Geth's memory core," said Kiryuu. "The Reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Forerunners, then they vanished. This new data complicates what we thought we knew about the Forerunner extinction, and we're looking into it now."

"The Geth believe the Reapers are gods," said Shepard, "and Saren is the prophet for their return."

"We think the Conduit is the key to bringing them back," said Anderson. "Saren's searching for it. That's why he attacked Eden Prime."

"Do we even know what this Conduit is?" asked Ikram.

"Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers," said Shepard. "That's bad enough."

"Listen to what you're saying," Valern suddenly scoffed. "Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? Impossible! It has to be! Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we have found no trace of their existence? If they were real, we'd have found something."

"I tried to warn you about Saren and you refused to face the truth," said Shepard firmly. "Don't make the same mistake again!"

"This is different," said Tevos. "You proved that Saren betrayed the Council, we all agree that he's using the Geth to search for the Conduit, but we don't really know why."

"The Reapers are obviously just a myth, Commander," said Ikram, "a convenient lie to cover his true purpose, a legend that he is using to bend the Geth to his will."

"40,000 years ago, the Reapers wiped out all of galactic civilisation!" Shepard argued. "If Saren finds the Conduit, it will happen again!"

"Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life," said Valern dismissively. "He no longer has the rights or resources of a Spectre; the Council has stripped him of his position."

"That is not good enough!" Udina barked. "You know he's hiding somewhere in the Traverse! Send your fleet in!"

"A fleet cannot track down one man," Ikram retorted.

"The Citadel fleet could still secure the entire region," said Kiryuu, "and keep the Geth from attacking any more of our colonies."

"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems!" Valern spat. "We won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies."

"Every time humanity asks for help, you ignore us!" Shepard suddenly shouted, looking furious.

"Shepard is right!" said Udina with a similar level of rage. "I am sick of this Council and its anti-Earth bullshit!"

"Ambassador!" Tevos called, trying to keep her voice even-tempered. "There is another solution, a way that does not require fleets or armies." She threw a meaningful look at Valern, who shook his head firmly.

"No!" he shouted. "It's too soon! Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres!"

"You don't have to send a fleet into the Traverse," Kiryuu said reasonably, "and we get our human Spectre. Everybody's happy."

A moment of silence followed while the Council conferred amongst themselves. There was a feeling of great apprehension in the air, shared by both the five figures on the platform and the people watching from the balconies above. Alan was sure that this was to be an important occasion, even if it did strike him as little more than the Council throwing humanity a bone. After a few moments, the three Councillors turned back to the Earth party.

"Commander Kaelyn Shepard," said Tevos. "Step forward."

Anderson nodded at Shepard, and she stepped to the front of the group, her hands behind her back. Excited whispers could be heard coming from the balconies.

"It is the decision of this Council," said Tevos, "that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen," said Ikram. "Individuals forged in the fires of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank-and-file."

"Spectres are an ideal," said Tevos, "a symbol, the embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council; instruments of our will."

"Spectres bear a great burden," said Valern. "They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defence. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first human Spectre, Commander," said Tevos. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

"I'm honoured, Councillor," said Shepard, humbled and giving a bow.

"We are sending you into the Traverse in pursuit of Saren," said Ikram. "He is a fugitive from justice, so you are authorised to use whatever means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him."

"Any idea where to find him?" asked Shepard.

"We will forward any relevant files to Ambassador Knight," said Valern.

"This meeting of the Council is adjourned," said Tevos. With that, the three Councillors departed for their own chambers, while Kiryuu, Udina, Anderson, Shepard and Alan walked back into the lobby.

"Congratulations, Commander," said Kiryuu warmly, shaking her hand with his claw. Anderson did the same, smiling broadly.

"We've got a lot of work to do, Shepard," said Udina. "You're going to need a ship, a crew, supplies... Anderson, come with me. I'll need your help to set all this up." With that, Udina and Anderson departed. Alan shook his head, glaring after Udina.

"That pompous little git," he said, turning to Shepard. "You'd think he'd be a bit more grateful for what you've done, but what do you expect from a politician?"

"I'm still standing right here, grandson," said Kiryuu wryly. He turned to face Shepard. "Regardless of my counterpart's poor attitude, you and your team have my deepest thanks for your efforts. I will see you later at the _Normandy_ to see you off." He turned back to Alan. "I want you there as well, at docking bay 422. There is more that we need to discuss. Send both of your teams to their respective ships, and we'll discuss the situation further before you go. Hopefully we'll have some new intel for you." With that, he walked off back towards the elevator. Alan and Shepard stood still for a moment, taking in everything that the ambassador had just said.

"Doesn't he ever stop working?" asked Shepard.

"Not for as long as I've known him," Alan shrugged. "And believe me, that's a very long time."

"Don't know why he wants us at the _Normandy_ though," Shepard said. "Unless we're serving under Captain Anderson." She brought up her Omni-Tool and activated the commlink. "Kaidan, you and the others had better get to the _Normandy_. We've got the all-clear to go after Saren."

"_So they finally listened to us, did they?" _Kaidan's voice replied. _"Well, they had to take the blinders off sooner or later. We've heard nothing on the newsfeeds about Saren going rogue, but plenty about your recent promotion. So we finally got our own Spectre, did we? You deserve it, ma'am, more than any Spartan would have."_

"I appreciate it, Kaidan," said Shepard. Alan was sure he was imagining it, but he thought he saw a dark look cross Shepard's face for a fleeting moment, as if Kaidan had said something incredibly foul. "We'll rendezvous on the _Normand_y soon," she finished, signing off and turning to Alan. "Better not waste any more time, not with Saren still out there."

"I'm with you on that," said Alan, as the two of them decided to use a public shuttle to take them to the docks. On the way he contacted Alistair on his commlink and told his crew to gather at the _Serenity_. When the shuttle landed at docking bay 422 and the two of them stepped out, a spectacular view down the length of the great arms of the station greeted them. Close by were Ambassadors Knight and Udina, and Captain Anderson stood by the walkway leading to the super-sleek cruiser the _Normandy_. Alan noticed a dark frown lining Kiryuu's face as he and Shepard approached.

"I've got big news for you, Shepard," said Udina. "Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the _Normandy_. The ship is yours now."

"She's quick and quiet," said Anderson. "Plus you know the crew. It's the perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well, Commander."

Shepard and Alan looked at each other. Something in Anderson's manner suggested that he wasn't happy with this arrangement. He seemed rather stiff, as if he was barely holding himself back from saying something important. Alan suspected that there was some form of forced retirement going on, but didn't dare to voice that speculation out loud.

"I want the truth," Shepard said. "Why are you stepping down, sir?"

"You needed your own ship," said Anderson. "A Spectre can't answer to anyone but the Council, and it's time for me to step down."

"Come clean with me, Captain," said Shepard, her face a mask of disappointment. "You owe me that much."

"I'll tell you the whole story another time," Anderson said, sighing. "Right now, we should focus on the matter at hand. Saren's gone; don't even try to find him. We do know that he's after the Conduit, and he's got his Geth scouring the galaxy for more clues."

"We had reports of Geth in the Feros system shortly before our colony there dropped out of contact," said Udina. "There have also been sightings around Noveria."

"Find out what Saren was after on Feros and Noveria," said Kiryuu. "Maybe you can figure out where the Conduit is before he does."

"The Reapers are the real threat," said Shepard.

"I'm with the Council on this one, Shepard," said Udina forcefully. "I'm not sure they even exist."

"But if they do exist," Kiryuu cut in, "the Conduit's the key to bringing them back. Stop Saren from getting the Conduit, and we stop the Reapers from returning."

Shepard nodded grimly.

"We have one more lead," said Udina. "Matriarch Benezia, the other voice on that recording, has a daughter; a scientist who specialises in the study of the Forerunners. We don't know if she's involved, but it might be a good idea to try to find her and see if she knows anything. Her name is Liara; Dr Liara T'Soni. We had a report that she was involved in an archaeological dig on one of the uncharted planets in the Artemis Tau cluster."

"That's where you come in, Alan," said Kiryuu. "We need an extra pair of eyes on this mission. We're in a race against time to stop Saren from finding the Conduit; the more ground we can cover in the shortest amount of time, the better. I want you to head to the Artemis Tau cluster and find Dr. T'Soni. Bring her back here when you're successful."

"As for you, Shepard," said Anderson, "it's your decision to whether you investigate Feros or Noveria first. You're a Spectre now; you no longer answer to us."

"Your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole," Udina cut in sternly, sounding to Alan like a particularly strict schoolteacher. "You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up."

"I'll do whatever it takes to stop Saren," said Shepard firmly.

"Not exactly the answer I was looking for, Shepard," Udina groaned. "Remember that you were a human long before you were a Spectre." Alan looked over at Kiryuu, who had an odd expression on his face, as if he was trying not to laugh. Clearly he enjoyed seeing the bureaucrat looking flustered.

"I have a meeting to attend," Udina continued, trying to regain his composure. "Captain Anderson can answer any questions you might have." With that, he walked back towards the shuttles without another word.

"Anderson, if you wish to discuss matters further with Shepard before she leaves," said Kiryuu, "now is a good time. In the meantime, I have some things I want to say to Alan before I too have to attend a pointless meeting."

As Shepard and Anderson engaged in conversation, Kiryuu took Alan off to one side and pulled him in closer. He looked around him, as if making absolutely sure that they would not be overheard.

"There is a great deal more that I need to say," Kiryuu said, "but time is not on our side. I need to warn you that you must be cautious about the mass relay network."

"What?" Alan asked, dumbfounded. "After we've been using them for the past five years, now you're saying there's something wrong with them?"

"Something has been brought to my attention that warrants my unease," Kiryuu said, sighing. "It has brought all manner of suspicions to my mind, but I cannot say anything for certain, not at this point. I won't approach the Council on the matter until I have proof. I won't risk discrediting you or myself over this, not until I am absolutely certain one way or the other."

"Kiryuu, you're not making any sense," Alan said, shaking his head. "Honestly, you sound paranoid."

"I hope and pray that is the case," Kiryuu sighed. "It is another reason I don't wish to say too much to you at present. It would be unwise of me to share my speculations now, in case they do turn out to be a mere flight of fancy. Right now, it's imperative that you find Dr. T'Soni. Her research into the Forerunners could be valuable, and I won't let Saren use her to get more information about the Conduit. Still, if she is the same person that I am thinking of, then her information on the Forerunners is incomplete."

"Care to elaborate?" Alan asked. "Just come clean with me. Whatever it is you're so worried about, I'd rather hear about it now than when it's staring me in the face. Even if it all turns out to be a load of codswallop you won't lose anything by telling me, will you?"

Kiryuu was about to answer, but he looked behind him to see Shepard giving a quick salute before heading up the walkway to the _Normandy_'s access hatch. Kiryuu shook his head sadly as he turned back towards the elevator.

"I must dissuade Lofwyr from making more of those new drives..." he muttered.

"Come again?" Alan asked.

"Don't worry about it right now," Kiryuu said sadly. "You had better get going too. Saren already has too much of a head-start. I'll tell you everything that I know for certain as soon as I am sure it's safe to do so, I promise. Right now, you must focus on helping Shepard in any way you can, and on finding a way to stop Saren. Inform Telek of everything you have learned, if he hasn't already gone to ONI, and pass on my warning about the relays. Also, keep an eye on Alistair; if I'm right about this, he will need all the help he can get."

"Alright, fine!" Alan said, looking frustrated and throwing up his arms. "I'll do my job and let you get on with yours. For once though I hope you are just being a raving loony; we can't do much good if we can't use the relays, can we?"

"No..." Kiryuu sighed deeply. "I suppose not..."

Kiryuu looked very troubled as he departed for the elevators. Alan headed back to a shuttle, and departed for the _Serenity_'s docking bay; no. 417. He remembered a time when Kiryuu would not share any form of information with him, always preferring to leave him in the dark until the very last minute. He couldn't decide whether that was worse than these moments when Kiryuu would drip-feed information but leave out the most important parts. He had no idea why Kiryuu felt he couldn't say everything, and it irritated Alan to no end.

He was still in a foul mood by the time he got back to the _Serenity_. Alistair had grown so used to Alan over the last five years of them working together that he knew something was wrong, even as he saluted and followed the mutant back into the ship.

"Penny for your thoughts, Captain?" the gargoyle asked as he closed the cargo ramp and sealed the airlock. Alan was already halfway across the large cargo bay and turned to look back at his First Mate, sighing.

"Do you ever get the feeling that someone's not being honest with you?" he asked.

"Only as far as when aliens tell me I'm a fascinating specimen," said Alistair. "They usually mean for the laboratory. What's brought this on?"

"Just something Kiryuu said," replied Alan as the pair of them walked up the metal steps to the upper walkways. "He has this habit of just leaving little hints, but they point to a lot of bad things happening." He decided to be up-front about his concerns to Alistair, for he had always vowed that there would be no secrets between shipmates. "Do you think we're all doing the right thing, using this technology we know virtually nothing about?"

"You mean like the relays?" Alistair asked, before he scoffed. "Don't tell me; Kiryuu's found out that if you dance the tango with a one-legged Krogan while singing 'I'm Too Sexy' in Atlantean, they open a gateway to the Far Realm."

"Knowing our luck, that's probably not far from the truth," snorted Alan, as they reached the corridor leading to the bridge. "All he said was to be careful around the relays; sounded really worried about them too. He wouldn't say why though, only that it was just an idea he'd got from somewhere. What choice do we have though? Without those relays it'll take weeks to get from one side of the galaxy to the next, and that's with slip-space. That's not going to help us on our mission."

"What mission?" Alistair asked.

"We're looking for an Asari archaeologist," said Alan. "Goes by the name of Liara T'Soni. She's out looking for Forerunner stuff, and we've got to bring her back here."

The pair soon stepped onto the bridge itself, where Bishop was already at his usual post at the pilot's console.

"_Serenity, you are clear for take-off,"_ said a voice on the communicator.

"Roger, Citadel control," said Bishop. With a loud thud from outside the docking clamps were raised, releasing the ship. Bishop skilfully moved it out of the docking bay and back into the gaseous nebula.

"Bishop," said Alan, "get us to the Artemis Tau cluster. Once there, run a scan for any sign of Forerunner architecture."

"Aye-aye, Captain," said Bishop. "Ideally we'd have the Luminary for such a job, but I'll do what I can with what we have. I estimate it will take us a few hours before we find anything there."

"That'll give me time to brief Telek on what's happened," said Alan. "I'll put out an APB among the fleet for Saren Arterius. I don't think he'd be stupid enough to risk a run-in with the Sangheili, but it can't hurt to have extra people looking for him."

"So we've been roped into the hunt for Saren too?" said Alistair, his eyes widened. "The top-dog of the Spectres?"

"I'm afraid so," Alan asked. "Did Shepard's crew mention him to you?"

"They certainly did," Alistair shrugged. "According to them he's the one leading the Geth and flying about in that squid-ship. I'm surprised there's been nothing about him on the newsfeeds though."

"The Council must want to keep his treachery under wraps," said Bishop sagely. "I suspect they wish to avoid the potential embarrassment."

"Well, he's who we're going after," said Alan. "Well, kind-of... We've got other things we need to do first. I'll tell you more on the way to... wherever it is we're going in the cluster. By the way, where are José and Call?"

"Call's at her usual place in the engine room," said Alistair. "Last I saw of José, he was trying to beat the last level of 'Gunmen of the Apocalypse'."

"What, again?" Alan asked. "Didn't he give up on that last year after about ten attempts?"

"Well, you should know better than anyone," Alistair shrugged, as the ship approached the mass relay. "He doesn't like unfinished business."

0

The Artemis Tau cluster was named after the Greek goddess Artemis the Huntress, and the four star systems that had been discovered were names after cities or kingdoms in ancient Greece and Crete. For the first two hours after emerging from the relay, the _Serenity_ crew had been running surface scans of every planet in the Athens system, searching for any sign of Dr. T'Soni's excavation site. They had had no success, and the search was beginning to wear Alan's patience thin.

"You'd think somebody would have looked up where exactly this doctor is before sending us out here," he grumbled.

"According to my records," said Bishop, "Dr. T'Soni hasn't left the Artemis Tau cluster in quite some time. From all accounts she's rather eccentric and doesn't like to be disturbed in the middle of an excavation, so she may sever all contact after a while. She has even been known to dismiss her co-workers, so we should not be surprised if we find her alone."

"Who in their right bloody mind would want to be alone when smugglers, pirates and maniacal machines could drop in?" Alan exclaimed.

"As I said," Bishop replied calmly, "she is known to be eccentric, especially when it comes to her research."

"Alright," Alan groaned, "let's try the Knossos system."

"Roger," replied Bishop. "Setting a slip-space course."

Twenty minutes later, the _Serenity_ was emerging from the glowing slip-space portal into the Knossos system. Further time passed as Bishop ran his scans, starting from the outermost planets and working his way inwards. It was when he reached the second planet from the centre, Therum, that he finally got a result.

"I'm picking up comm. chatter from this planet's surface," he said. "I'm trying to make it clearer now..."

He adjusted several switches on the pilot's console, and for a while Alan thought that there was nothing but static. He was about to suggest that it was a secure transmission, but then he realised that what he was hearing was not static, but an odd electronic stuttering sound.

"That's Geth chatter," said Alan firmly. "I recognise it from Eden Prime."

Bishop immediately began manipulating the controls on his console, bringing up various files on the monitor screens.

"According to this," he said, "Therum was claimed by the UNSC six months ago, and the resources on it were responsible for a manufacturing boom back on Earth. A month ago, however, the mining facility was abandoned and official reports would not state why."

"Whatever it is," said Alan, "it's important enough to have drawn the Geth's attention. Let's go take a look. Can you find a safe place to put down?"

"I doubt it," said Bishop. "Therum's surface is volcanic; there are lakes of lava everywhere. I can't land the ship close enough to the Geth signals, not without the risk of getting shot down; I'll have to drop you a few clicks away and you'll have to get to the facility on foot."

"Just for once I'd like things to be nice and simple," said Alistair wryly from the co-pilot's console. "It'd be a nice change."

"We wouldn't be the good guys if it was easy," replied Alan. "Alright, Alistair, we'll meet with José in the cargo bay and get suited up. If we're dealing with Geth we'll need as much firepower as we can carry. Bishop, take us down there."

"Roger, Captain," said Bishop. "ETA ten minutes. I'll forward the topographical data to your commlinks."

Alan headed back down into the cargo bay and walked towards the large lockers close to the airlock. These lockers contained environment suits and combat armour for everyone on the ship (except for Bishop and Call, who almost never went into combat situations themselves). He approached a large grey locker with the symbol of the Utah Foundation emblazoned on it. It contained Alan's own armour which he had been using for the past five years, a gift from Kiryuu that Alan wished he had never received. He wanted to avoid using it as much as possible, but knowing what he was up against he knew that he could not afford to take any chances. A good shot through the brain would kill him as it would any other creature that relied on that particular organ, so he knew that, this time, he could not snub anything that could keep him safe. He groaned as he opened the locker.

Ten minutes later, the _Serenity_ was swooping low over a scorched landscape, broken up by immense lakes of lava. Various structures could be seen running across the surface, such as huge pipes, outbuildings and the entrances to large mineshafts; remnants of the mining projects which had long been abandoned. The ship weaved between the rocky hills and valleys, and only stopped at the end of a long path that ran beside a lava lake. The path was blocked by a barricade of rocks, impossible to pass save for a small split in the barrier. On the ship's approach, plasma fire began to shoot out from the hills beyond the barrier; the Geth had fortified themselves here and Bishop did not dare to take the ship any further. He hovered near the barrier for three figures to drop out of the hatch in the bottom, before accelerating away as plasma fire continued to pound against the shields.

Alan, Alistair and José were all wearing their own signature protective armour. José was wearing grey ODST armour, his face covered by the blank visor on his helmet. As well as his usual heavy pistol and assault rifle he had a modified Spartan Laser strapped to his back. Alistair was wearing similar armour, only it was navy-blue and had been altered extensively to accommodate his gargoyle anatomy. Alan, meanwhile, was wearing silver armour that made him look like Kiryuu in many ways, right down to his shaped helmet with amber eye-screens. The armour was lined with a strange material that Alan suspected to be bio-syntech, as he was sure that he could feel tiny needles forcing their way under his skin every time he put it on. While he had gotten used to the sensation after a while it still made him uneasy; it made the armour feel like his own skin rather than any sort of protection. Alan was not the sort to look a gift horse in the mouth, but he had to wonder if this was Kiryuu's idea of a practical joke.

"Guess we can assume hostiles then, judging from that plasma fire," Alistair said wryly, as all three drew their weapons.

"Keep to cover wherever you can," said Alan. "We've seen how easily their weapons can tear through shields. Keep your guard up."

As they stepped through the crack in the barricade, they found a path leading up into the hills. Advancing towards them were several Geth drones that opened fire on the trio instantly. This time Alan was ready, and he and the others dived for cover behind the rocks and returned fire. Alan's own Technomantic revolver – a modified Ruger Super Warhawk which he had possessed since the 21st century – was set to fire standard shots, and while it did not use ammo it was prone to overheating depending on the type of shot used, meaning that he had to leave it to recharge for a brief period. By now all three had spent enough time in combat situations to know what they were doing and how to make every shot count, and at the end of the day the Geth were no more dangerous to them than the Jirahalnae had been.

As they progressed up the path, shooting down any Geth that tried to stop them, Alan began to see that the drones actually varied in size, colour and function. The red ones were often armed with hand-held missile launchers, white ones were capable of using optic camouflage, while the gold ones were larger than the others with reinforced plating. The drones kept making the strange clicking and stuttering noises, as if barking orders to each other. None of the team could deny that they were all very good shots, but eventually they shot their way through the waves of drones and reached the top of the hill. There they found a large space before them, deserted save for a few large cargo containers, with the entrance to a large mine-shaft cut into the rocks on their right.

All of a sudden there was a loud high-pitched noise, like the approach of a jet flying overhead. Glancing upwards, the trio saw a ship coming towards them. It looked to Alan like a giant purple hornet without wings, and had a strangely organic look. It even had legs folded in on the underside. It vaguely resembled the mothership seen on Eden Prime, and Alan decided that this organic quality was a frequent design choice on the part of synthetics. It was quickly revealed to be a dropship, for as it passed overhead several objects shot out of the bottom at speeds that would have pulverised any organic being. As they hit the ground they instantly unfolded, revealing themselves to be more armed drones. As well as the drones, a particularly large object dropped out of the ship and slammed into the ground, causing mounds of dust to launch all around it. As the object unfolded, it took on a quadrupedal shape, with a long neck that rose and ended with a Geth-like flashlight head. To Alan, it looked like a large metal giraffe. The strange contraption quickly turned its head towards where the team were standing, and strands of blue plasma could be seen forking like lightning all around the flashlight-like face. As the glow around the face became more vivid, Alan suddenly realised what it was about to do.

"Get down!" he shouted. His companions didn't need to be told twice, for they all dived for cover behind the cargo containers as the Geth drones opened fire on them. A second later a bright blue blast of plasma energy exploded out of the construct and slammed into the spot where they had been stood, hitting the ground with a loud thud and sending loose earth everywhere. The team fired back, managing to cut down the drones, but the larger mecha kept shooting at them with both rapid-fire bursts and the large plasma cannon, sending the containers flying and forcing the group to dive for cover.

"That thing's got to have some kind of weakness!" Alan shouted. "Not even Medusa shells are making a dent in its plating!"

Medusa shells were a special type of shot that Alan could fire from his Technomantic revolver. They looked like large balls of electricity when fired; on impact they could disrupt shields and stun living beings. However, they proved to be of little use against the walking tank; Alan suspected that the plating was too thick for the shots to successfully penetrate.

"I'll try using the BFG!" José called, referring to the Spartan Laser strapped to his back by its nickname. "Keep it busy for a minute, boss!"

"We don't have a minute!" Alan shouted, as another blast from the Geth machine slammed into a cargo container close to him. It seemed to be systematically trying to flush out the attackers, attempting to destroy any possible hiding places. Alan didn't know how much longer they could hold out against it. Nonetheless, he and Alistair did their best to keep the tank's focus on them both, hitting it with 'bug bites' from their weapons.

The walking tank seemed to decide that Alan and Alistair were the targets worth pursuing, so it continued to try to flush them out of hiding. Several times its plasma bolts came dangerously close, the pair only just diving clear of the immense shots. A few more shots and they would surely have nowhere left to run. However, after a full minute an enormous red laser blast erupted from somewhere behind the tank. The shot blasted right through the neck, leaving a gaping hole and glowing cables flailing about. Sparks erupted from the neck, but the tank's head remained, barely held in place by the thinning metal. It slowly turned to face the direction the blast had come from, the head shaking precariously, to find José kneeling down, slapping the side of the weapon. Alan knew that the laser had a recharge period, but that was something José could not afford.

All of a sudden he saw Alistair dash right past him, moving towards the creature's back. Before he could shout an objection the gargoyle took a powerful leap, boosted by sharply flapping his wings, and landed on the back of the tank. Without even pausing he dashed up the length of the back, drawing the razor-sharp katana strapped to his back. With two clean swipes he severed the rest of the metal, and dived off as sparks flew everywhere. The light on the head of the tank died out as it flew off the body and slammed onto the floor. The legs buckled and the body collapsed, sparks still flying. Alistair surveyed the wreckage, pumping a fist.

"Just like anything else out there," he said, sounding smug. "Cut off the head and the body will perish!"

"Don't get too excited, amigo," José said, as he walked to meet with the others by the entrance to the mine. "It took all of that just to smash one of those things. We're facing an army full of them!"

"Nothing some mounted guns can't fix, mate," Alistair shrugged. "Let's just do what we came here to do, shall we?"

"Agreed," Alan said. "We've been delayed too much as it is. Let's just hope Saren hasn't got Dr. T'Soni already."

With that, the trio opened the large metal doors leading into the mine. A long earth ramp leading downwards led them into the main body of the underground mine. Eventually the team passed through another door, and found themselves on a metal staircase leading down to a thin walkway. To their left was a huge chasm, while in front of them was what looked like the buried remains of an immense grey tower, broken up every thirty feet or so by large oval gaps lined with pale tiles. A rocky path led from the walkway to the nearest hole, but a glowing blue force-field was blocking the path. Close to the field was an elevator that led further down into the depths of the pit. Alan, Alistair and José all stepped inside and hit the only button. Clearly there were no other floors for this elevator to stop on. As they slowly rode down into the abyss, José took a closer look at the holes as they passed by.

"Looks so sterile and white," he said. "The Forerunners sure made things look homey, didn't they, amigo?"

Alan peered intently at the buried ruins.

"Something doesn't feel right about these ruins," he said. "We've all seen Forerunner architecture before; this doesn't really match with what we saw on the Halos and the Shield Installations."

"I'm getting a really creepy feeling about this place..." muttered Alistair. Looking over at him, Alan saw that the gargoyle did indeed look very nervous. He was visibly trembling. Something about the ruins had really got under his skin. Alan brought up his commlink and pressed some buttons, before raising his arm towards the ruins.

"I was a photographer in a former life," he said. "I'll try and get a few pictures. Maybe Kiryuu can make sense of this later."

The elevator continued to ride down for almost a full minute, in which time Alan was able to take several photos of the architecture. However, as they neared the bottom, there was a sudden loud grinding sound. Sparks flew everywhere from the elevator and it shuddered violently, almost throwing the team out of it. It shuddered to a halt at a point above a wrecked metal walkway. Seeing no other option, the team decided to drop onto the walkway and walk around to a narrow ramp that led to the chasm floor.

As their feet hit the metal, however, a faint, nervous-sounding voice spoke up from somewhere to their left:

"Uh... Hello? Can somebody help me, please?"

The voice was female, and had an odd echoing quality to it. Alan turned to his left and saw that they were now standing right in front of one of the shielded access holes. On the other side was an Asari, blue-skinned and with wavy folds of sculpted skin in place of hair. She was dressed in a green scientist's uniform and was currently levitating, surrounded by a sphere of blue energy, her arms spread as if she was being crucified. Alan approached the shield-wall, removing his helmet as he did so and holding it under his arm. As he approached, the Asari looked at him with an urgent gaze.

"Can you hear me out there?" she called. "I'm trapped! I need help!"

It didn't seem to require a lot of thought as to whom this particular Asari was, and what she was doing in the ruins.

"Dr. Liara T'Soni, I assume?" Alan ventured.

"Thank the Goddess!" the Asari breathed. "I didn't think anybody would come looking for me!" She looked to either side of her, apparently at the bubble that had encased her. "Listen to me; this thing I'm in is a Forerunner security device. I cannot move so I need you to get me out of here, alright?"

"How?" Alistair asked. "This bloody great force-field's in the way."

"It's a Forerunner security barrier," Liara explained. "I knew it would keep me safe from the Geth, but when I turned it on I must have touched something I wasn't supposed to. I was trapped in here! You must get me out, please!"

"Hold on a second," Alan growled, his eyes narrowed. "We know your mother's working with Saren and the Geth. Who's side are you on?"

"What?" Liara spluttered, her eyes wide. "I'm not on anybody's side! I haven't spoken to my mother for years! This is the first I've heard of her working with the Geth!"

"Don't mind him, amiga," José suddenly said, stepping forward and throwing Alan a wry look. "He's a bit cranky from lack of sugar. We'll find some way to help you, Doctor."

"There's a control panel in here that should de-activate this thing," said Liara. "You'll have to find some way past the barrier curtain; that's the tricky part. The defences cannot be shut off from the outside; I don't know how you'll get in here!"

"We'll get through somehow," said Alan. "I've come too far to let a stupid force-field stop me now."

"Just a moment!" Liara said urgently. "You must be careful. There was a Krogan with the Geth. They've been trying numerous ways to get past the barrier."

"Bloody hell, one thing at a time!" Alistair groaned.

The trio walked along the walkway, leaving Liara to levitate and look flustered. At the bottom of the ramp they saw what remained of Liara's camp. One of the first things they came across was an enormous mining laser, of the kind usually fitted onto research vessels. It seemed excessive to Alan to have this sort of thing here, as using it would risk damaging any finds. Conveniently, it was pointed at a patch of ground just in front of the tower. An idea formed in Alan's head

"Alistair," he said, "do you think you can get this thing working again?"

"Oh, give me a challenge, Captain," Alistair replied, smirking. "Just stand back; these things have a hell of a kick."

Alan and José retreated towards the tents while Alistair set to work on the laser's control panel. Inside the tents were a variety of crates and boxes, doubtless containing enough supplies to last an extended period of study. As he moved to pick up a datapad lying on top of one of the crates, Alan threw a look of bewilderment at José.

"What was that all about back there?" he asked. "Are you seriously trying to impress her? You're a married man!"

"What?" José replied, raising his eyebrows. "That don't mean I have to be rude to all the other good-looking ladies out there. Besides, we can't really jump to conclusions with her, can we?"

"Whatever you say, mate," Alan said, shaking his head in disbelief. He turned the datapad on and began to look through the documents on the screen. All of the documents were written in unfamiliar hieroglyph-like characters. "It looks like she'd downloaded and was trying to translate some of the data files from this place. I say we let Kiryuu take a look at it."

"That's your answer for everything," José said in a snarky tone.

"Care to tell me if you know any experts on the Forerunners then?" Alan asked, sounding irritable.

José was about to answer when there was a bright light and a loud whirring noise which made both of them jump. Looking back towards the tower, they saw that Alistair had got the mining laser working again, as a bright orange beam blasted the rock away at the foot of the tower. After a few seconds of this the laser stopped, leaving a gaping hole with a rocky ramp leading downwards. They approached Alistair, who stood frozen with a shell-shocked expression on his face.

"That was noisier than I thought it would be," he said blankly.

"Let's just see what's down there," said Alan. The trio walked over to the ramp and peered down. They saw another large oval-shaped hole in the wall of the tower that had previously been buried. By a stroke of good fortune, the shield wasn't activated over this particular access point. The team stepped down the ramp and onto the tiles that lined the small pathway. On the other side they found themselves standing on a large metal platform, in the middle of an immense shaft that stretched to the walkway they had entered the mine from. Alan counted the access holes in the side of the shaft, and learned that Liara was right above them. He looked across to the centre of the platform, where he spotted a control panel.

"I'd guess this is an elevator," he said. "José, if this really is Forerunner tech, you'll have to work it. Come to think of it, how did Dr. T'Soni get any of this working if she's not human?"

"Maybe genetic encryption was only used for the stuff they really wanted to keep secure?" Alistair suggested. "You know, like the Halos? Besides, the encryption might be how Dr. T'Soni got herself trapped in the first place; it didn't like aliens fiddling about with the workings."

"Maybe..." Alan murmured. José pressed a few promising-looking buttons, and almost at once the platform began to move up the shaft. When Alan thought about how old this technology was, being at least 40,000 years old, he was amazed at how it still worked very smoothly. Whoever the Forerunners were, they built their machines to last; back in the 21st century Alan would have felt lucky if a brand-new computer had worked for ten straight minutes.

The elevator stopped at the next hole, and the team saw Liara more closely, encased in a field of pure energy. As they approached, she heard the sound of their footsteps and tried to turn to look at them, but the only thing she could move was her head. The group saw one of her blue eyes widen as it spotted them.

"How..." she stammered. "How did you get in here? I didn't think there was any way past the barrier!"

"We just blasted through with the mining laser," Alistair explained.

"Oh, of course," said Liara. "Yes, that makes sense. Please get me out of here before more Geth arrive!" She turned her head towards a small control panel against the wall. "That button over there should shut down this containment field."

"Not so fast," Alan said. "Can you think why your mother would join Saren?"

"No!" Liara replied indignantly. "I didn't know she would do such a thing, and I certainly don't want anything to do with that Turian bastard!"

"Think about it, mate," said Alistair reasonably. "If she was with Saren, the Geth wouldn't be trying to kill her, would they?"

"Point taken," Alan replied. "Okay, José, you do the honours."

José nodded and walked over to the control panel. After pressing some of the holographic buttons the field surrounding Liara faded, and she landed with a thud onto the floor. As she dusted herself off, Alistair looked around him.

"You think that elevator can get us out of here?" he asked Liara.

"I'm sure of it," she replied. "The tower stretches all the way to the surface. We can get out at the access point near the mine entrance.

"Sounds like a plan," Alan nodded. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"I still don't understand this," said Liara, shaking her head as they stepped back onto the elevator. "Why would the Geth come after me? Do you think my mother's involved?"

"Saren's looking for the Conduit," said Alistair. "You're an expert on the Forerunners; he probably wants you to help him find it."

"The Conduit?" Liara asked, looking puzzled. "But I don't know-"

Before she could continue, there was a sudden loud rumbling noise and the elevator shook violently, almost throwing the team off their feet.

"What the hell was that?" said José, as the sound of crumbling masonry grew louder still.

"These ruins are not stable," said Liara. "The mining laser must have triggered a seismic event! We have to get out before this whole place caves in!"

José quickly moved over to the control panel with Liara, and both set about manipulating the controls. Alan brought up his commlink and contacted the _Serenity_.

"Bishop!" he barked. "Get the _Serenity_ airborne and lock in on my signal! On the double, mister!"

"_Aye aye, Captain!"_ was Bishop's reply. _"ETA eight minutes!"_

"Not much margin for error," Alan grumbled as he signed off.

"If I die down here, I'll kill him!" José grunted.

All at once the elevator began to rise again, moving swiftly up the tower. After a mere few moments it came to rest at the top, right by the access hole that the team had passed at the mine entrance. The force-field had now been deactivated, but the group found a reception committee awaiting them consisting of several Geth drones and a Krogan wearing black and silver combat armour.

"Surrender!" barked the Krogan. "Or don't. That'd be more fun."

"In case you didn't notice," Alan retorted, "this place is falling apart!"

"Exhilarating, isn't it?" the Krogan sneered. "Thanks for getting rid of those energy fields for us. Hand the doctor over!"

"Whatever it is you want," said Liara, standing firm, "you will not get it from me!"

"You heard the lady," Alan said. "She'll stay with us, thanks."

"Not an option," the Krogan hissed. "Saren wants her, and he always gets what he wants." He turned to the Geth drones with him. "Kill them! Spare the Asari if you can! If not, it doesn't matter."

With that, all of the drones opened fire, forcing the group to dive for cover among the support columns. Alan noticed Liara raise a shield around herself, deflecting the enemy fire. Alan knew that the Asari were very accomplished in the field of biotics, a more powerful form of ESP capability. It was the nearest thing that most of the civilisations in the galaxy had to magic.

Both sides traded fire as the rumbling grew louder and the tremors became more frequent. Soon all of the drones had been gunned down, but during the fighting the Krogan was able to get closer to José's hiding place. As the soldier gunned down the last Geth drone, the Krogan suddenly let out a bestial roar, charging straight at him, his body glowing with a blue light. José wasn't able to get out of the way in time, and the Krogan rammed into him with enough force to break every bone in a man's body. José's ODST armour took the brunt of the damage, but it was still heavily buckled and he was sent flying across the floor. He lay there, struggling to pull himself up, the wind knocked out of him.

The Krogan was about to move in for the kill, but at that moment Alan charged straight at him, the line of his Technomantic whip falling free and glowing with crackling blue energy. The Krogan heard him approach and tried to raise his shotgun, but he failed to do so in time as Alan lashed out viciously with the whip. The first strike disarmed the Krogan, while the next two cut the fact and bone-plate deeply. If there was one thing that Alan hated, it was when others hurt his comrades. The Krogan was dead before he hit the floor.

As José was helped back to his feet, the tremors grew worse, and Alan knew that they did not have much time left to get out. They all ran as fast as they could out of the elevator, along the walkway and up the staircase. The tremors now became consistent, and large boulders fell from the ceiling, smashing parts of the walkway. Though their muscles screamed in protest, the group forced themselves to run faster, as they reached the tunnel leading back to the surface.

Finally, as dust and loud crashing noises surrounded them, they sprinted out into the daylight. The tremors could not be felt above ground, but the noise from the tunnel said all that they needed to know. The ruins were now gone, but Alan wasn't sorry to see them go; something about them bothered him, though he could not put his finger on why. Looking around, he saw the relieved faces of the group, including their new arrival, and he hoped that all of this trouble was worth it.


	5. Tremors

**Tremors**

Moments later, everybody was safely back on the _Serenity_ and flying swiftly away from Therum. Liara had started complaining of dizziness; apparently the shock and adrenaline had taken a lot of energy out of her. Alan agreed to let her use one of the passenger cabins to rest while he went back to the bridge to make a report. He sat at the co-pilot's console and tried to contact Kiryuu on his frequency at the Citadel. At the same time he contacted the _Divine Journey_, unsure that he could reach Telek at the _Shadow of Darkness_. After a few moments, Kiryuu answered the call, followed by Cujo.

"Is Telek around, Cujo?" Alan asked.

"_I'm afraid not, Alan,"_ was Cujo's reply. _"He's still in talks with the High Council and ONI about co-ordinating the Orion Arm's forces. We're up to speed with the situation though, thanks to ONI. We got the APB for Saren Arterius. My advice is don't go looking for him; I have heard stories about this character. He has a bad reputation even by the standards of the Council Spectres. You also saw what his ship did to the Fleet; the Serenity wouldn't stand a chance."_

"_I doubt he could find him even if he tried, Cujo"_ Kiryuu interrupted, _"Alan, I'm not saying this because I have no faith in your abilities, but it's just like Anderson said; Saren will have covered his tracks far too well. We need to find more clues to his whereabouts and his plans before we can make a major move against him."_

"_Well, you won't find any in the Orion Arm,"_ said Cujo. _"I doubt Saren would risk starting a war with our forces, and even if he would we haven't seen any sign of him, his ship or the Geth. If he's anywhere, he'll still be somewhere in the Traverse. That gives him a lot of galaxy to hide in. Of course, if he's out in the Terminus Systems your Spectre's screwed; the Council won't send her out there."_

"_I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, Cujo,"_ said Kiryuu. _"We have more pressing concerns at present. Alan, did you find Dr. T'Soni?"_

"I certainly did," said Alan. "Saren's forces were after her. They must have thought she could tell them about the Conduit, but they didn't seem to care that much if they took her dead or alive."

"_Good job, Alan,"_ Kiryuu nodded. _"What you've said just now worries me though. I cannot believe that Benezia would permit the murder of her own daughter, even if she has sided with Saren. That Turian must be more persuasive than we thought."_

"_Or you don't know Benezia as well as you thought,"_ said Cujo.

"_No, Cujo,"_ replied Kiryuu, shaking his head. _"I have become very good at measuring someone's character, even from a brief encounter. Whatever Benezia's reasons for siding with Saren, I'm convinced she would not allow Liara to come to harm, not by her own choice."_

"Whatever the case," Alan said, "she's safe with us now. Unfortunately the ruins she was studying got buried. I managed to get some data and photos of the place though; I thought you ought to have a look at them."

He manipulated his Omni-Tool, sending the data he had gathered to both Kiryuu and Cujo. Kiryuu's brow furrowed as he studied them, and then shook his head with narrowed eyes. Cujo, meanwhile, looked utterly shocked.

"_Just as I suspected,"_ he said coldly. _"This is not consistent with any known Forerunner architecture. Whoever these Protheans were, they are not the same beings as the Forerunners."_

"Care to explain how you figured that out?" asked Alan.

"_It's not just the architecture, Alan,"_ said Cujo. _"The symbols on this file you found don't match the Forerunner alphabet. Here, see for yourself."_

Two files appeared side-by-side on one of Alan's monitors. One was a diagram with various circular symbols, the other was the document that Alan had found on Liara's datapad. Alan had not had many opportunities to study the Forerunner language in great detail, but looking at them both he now saw for himself that the symbols were distinctly different from each other.

"I don't get this," said Alan. "What makes you so sure that ruin wasn't anything to do with the Forerunners? Couldn't different Forerunner colonies have developed their own cultures and languages? You know how diverse Earth is, after all."

"_Not possible, Alan,"_ said Cujo. _"Nothing we have ever studied of the Forerunners suggested such a thing. They were an extremely unified race; differing cultures with their own languages and architectural methods simply didn't develop among them. You've seen for yourself how uniform the Halos and Shield Installations are in their geography and archaeology. No, Alan; whoever the Citadel races have been studying, they definitely were not the Forerunners. This does throw everything we thought we knew about this technology into question though."_

"How could everyone in the galaxy have got it so wrong though?" Alan asked disbelievingly. "You'd think someone would have picked up on this."

"_Genuine Forerunner structures may not have been discovered by them,"_ said Kiryuu. _"It was only by pure chance that we came to learn of the existence of the Halos, and through them the Forerunners, after all."_

"So who the hell did build that ruin?" asked Alan. "What about the mass relays, for that matter? If it wasn't the Forerunners, then why do they show as Forerunner technology on the Luminary?"

"_I'm as puzzled about that as you are, Alan,"_ said Cujo. _"I can tell you for certain that the language doesn't match anything that we know of. It may be that the Protheans were a separate species altogether, and if that's true there's no way to know for sure when they were around. They may even have pre-dated the Forerunners, for all we know."_

"I knew it!" a female voice exclaimed from the doorway. Alan jumped, spinning around to see who had spoken. He found Liara standing in the doorway, looking oddly excited.

"Dr. T'Soni?" Alan asked. "I thought you'd gone for a rest?"

"I'm sorry, Captain," Liara replied, "but I couldn't rest easy knowing about Saren, and how my mother has allied with her."

"How long have you been standing there, anyway?" asked Alan. "I didn't hear you come up."

"Long enough," she replied, walking over to the co-pilot's console. "If what your Sangheili friend says is true, then I may finally have found the evidence I was looking for to prove my theory on galactic extinction cycles!"

"_You are Dr. Liara T'Soni, I assume?"_ asked Kiryuu.

"That's correct, Ambassador Knight," said Liara.

"_You seem awfully calm about speaking to me, Doctor,"_ said Kiryuu. _"You do not share the galaxy's resentment for AIs?"_

"I prefer to judge someone by their actions, not stereotypes," said Liara. "If you were the one who sent Captain Tyler to find me, then that says a lot about your character, and I have much to be thankful to you for."

"_The pleasure was all mine, Dr. T'Soni,"_ Kiryuu said, giving a small bow. _"It sounds like you might have some theories of your own about these discrepancies we have discovered. Once you are safely back on the Citadel, I wish to discuss them with you."_

"I would be glad to, Ambassador," said Liara. "I will be happy to meet someone who might take my theories seriously."

Just then there was a beeping sound coming from the pilot's console. Bishop had been focusing intently on flying the ship to this point, but now turned to face Alan.

"Captain," he said, "I'm picking up some kind of signal. From what I can tell it's a distress beacon of some kind, UNSC in origin, coming from the Sparta system."

"How can that be?" asked Alan. "That's pretty damn far out of the way for UNSC patrols."

"_I think I know what it might be, Alan,"_ said Kiryuu. _"While you were on Therum, Lord Hood contacted me. He said that he's lost contact with a team of ODSTs he sent out to the Artemis Tau cluster. I think he intended to give you backup on your search for Dr. T'Soni. That signal may be coming from them."_

"It'd be pretty remiss of me to ignore it then," said Alan_._ "Can Liara's testimony wait?"

"_I believe it can,"_ said Kiryuu. _"We have yet to receive word from Commander Shepard on Feros, and considering what she witnessed from the beacon I want the crews of both the Normandy and the Serenity to hear what Dr. T'Soni has to say. I'll try to arrange a conference room that we can all use to discuss the situation. Do excuse me, Alan. Cujo."_

"_I guess this means you won't be coming back to the fleet anytime soon then,"_ said Cujo. _"Very well then; I'll inform Telek of what we've discussed. Keep us in the loop. Good luck."_

With that, both Kiryuu and Cujo signed off.

"I will just go and tend to your crew-mate," said Liara, turning to leave. "I must say that Ambassador Knight is not what I expected from an AI at all. Neither, for that matter, are your two AI crewmembers."

"Yeah," shrugged Alan. "They get that a lot."

0

Within minutes, the _Serenity_ had arrived in the Sparta system. Upon arrival, Bishop immediately began running scans for the exact location of the distress signal. He eventually managed to track the signal to Edolus, the second planet in the system.

"If Lord Hood wanted to give us backup," Alan remarked, "his men are lousy navigators. Couldn't they have locked onto our signal?"

"Perhaps," said Bishop, scratching his chin. "According to my research, Edolus is just an uninhabitable rock, and is frequently bombarded by meteorite showers. I don't see how they could have thought we were there. I doubt that Lord Hood would not know of the existence of Dr. T'Soni's dig site, so why would his men search Edolus first?"

"I don't know," said Alan. "We've got an obligation to go down and look though, haven't we? I swear this galaxy makes less and less sense every day. Take us down."

"Roger," said Bishop, and soon the Serenity was swooping down through the dark clouds in the planet's atmosphere. Once in the blasted sky Alan felt that this was one of the least inviting planets he had seen. The sky was dark; where it wasn't black with the clouds it was a sickly yellow colour where the sun was barely able to peek through. In the distance several fiery streaks could be seen, the tell-tale signs of meteorites falling to the surface. Below the ship was a wasteland of rock and brown sand. Bishop flew as steadily as the harsh winds would allow.

"The signal's getting stronger," Bishop said. "We should have a visual within the next minute."

Sure enough, less than a minute later, the group saw several dark objects below them, spread out on one of the blasted plains. Nothing was moving on the ground, and the wind had done its best to shift the sand and bury the shapes below.

"It's hard to tell what happened down there from here," said Alan. "I'll have to go out and have a look. Put us down somewhere."

The ship shuddered as it moved to touch down on the ground below. Alan headed down to the common room to inform his crew of what happened. He found José laying on the sofa, with Liara stood over him and Alistair sat in a corner, evidently trying not to laugh.

"I told ya, I'm good!" José barked, but as he tried to stand he let out a sharp grunt and laid straight back down. Liara shook her head, reaching for another block of what Alan recognised to be medi-gel, an all-purpose medical aid that was a very recent creation by the Utah Foundation on Earth.

"You shouldn't exert yourself right now, Mr. Lovano," said Liara gently. "That Krogan's charge sprained your shoulder and you're lucky he didn't do more damage than that. You need to rest up." As she spoke, Alan saw Call emerge from the top of the stairs and lean on the infirmary wall, looking highly amused.

"I would have thought you would be enjoying being in the company of an Asari," she said, in an oddly wry tone. "I've heard that they know exactly how to get anyone aroused." At this Liara threw the android a scandalised look while Alistair finally burst out laughing.

"That is a gross stereotype of my species, miss!" Liara spluttered.

"Relax, doctor," Alan said, smirking. "She's just teasing you. José, just keep reminding yourself that you're married. Alistair, you're with me. I don't think we'll need more than two people to look over what's happened out there. We'll need respirators, but from the looks of it out there I'm not expecting a fight."

"Gotcha, Captain," said Alistair. As the mutant and the gargoyle walked back out towards the cargo bay, Liara began to dab José's injuries with more gel, and Alan swore he could hear José mutter "I'm gonna have some weird dreams tonight."

Moments later the two of them, equipped with respirators, were stepping out of the cargo ramp and onto the dusty ground. They stepped closer to the dark shapes, and as they got closer they were able to make out a scene of utter pandemonium. Rather disconcertingly, the half-buried shapes turned out to be the bodies of several fully-armoured ODSTs. Their armour was badly damaged, and even looked like it had melted in parts, the exposed flesh horribly scarred and burned. Strangely there were fewer bodies than Alan had expected to see. There was also a Warthog, completely wrecked beyond repair. Alan bent down over one of the bodies and examined it more closely.

"I don't understand it," he said. "No gunshot wounds, their shielding looks intact. It's like something clawed right through it. The melting on the armour suggests some kind of acid hit them. What the hell did this, and what happened to the drop-ship?"

"Wherever their ship is," Alistair said, "you'd think the distress signal would come from it, rather than the planet itself. If they couldn't pull their men out, they would have got the word out. Even if they were in space you'd think at least one marine would have got the word out to the ship." With that, the gargoyle walked over to examine another set of bodies further away.

"None of this makes sense," Alan muttered. "Why can't things ever be simple for once?" Looking around the area, he spotted what looked like a small metal tower, about ten feet in height, with the aerial-covered top spinning freely. He tried to scan it with his commlink, and soon made a discovery. The distress signal that they had been tracking was coming right from this transmitter.

"Bishop?" he said into his commlink. "Are you reading this?" Instead of Bishop's voice, he received nothing but static in reply. Alan then tried to open a channel to Alistair who was now a hundred feet away.

"Alistair?" he said. "Can you hear me?" Again there was nothing but static, even on this short-range transmission. An ever-growing feeling of unease ate away at Alan, making him feel as if his insides had been replaced by live snakes. He didn't see what could be causing the disruption; communications technology was now too advanced for mere bad weather to disrupt it.

All of a sudden he felt the ground shake violently beneath him. Glancing over towards Alistair, he actually noticed that the ground was cracking, lifting up right underneath the gargoyle's feet. Alistair didn't even have time to react before something enormous suddenly burst its way out of the ground, launching him up with it. Clouds of sand were scattered everywhere, and a horrible piercing shriek filled the air. When the dust cleared, Alan saw that an enormous worm-like creature had burst out of the ground, right under Alistair's feet. The part of the creature that was visible above ground had to be at least 30 feet tall, and its carapace was coloured in shades of brown and purple. Four long mandibles stretched out from around the mouth, and what looked like a long blue tongue snake out from the open mouth. It was flanked on either side by two long arms, each of which had scythe-like blades.

As the creature had risen up from under the ground, Alistair had been carried up with it. Luckily he was able to jump off the top of the body and glide away. Alan began to run back to the _Serenity_, which had already activated its jets and was hovering slightly above the ground, waiting to make a speedy getaway. He knew that Alistair had been lucky; there was every chance that thing could have devoured him.

However, the creature made a strange gurgling sound, and suddenly lurched forward. A long stream of a venomous-looking green liquid launched out of its mouth and shot towards Alistair. The gargoyle had turned in mid-air to see what was going on, when the stream of bile suddenly struck his left side. Alan gasped in horror as Alistair went falling to the ground, crashing right by the waiting ship. He lay still.

Trembling from head to toe, Alan dashed to him and tried to pull him to his feet. His left wing had taken the brunt of the hit, the feathers destroyed and the bones broken. The left side of his face, his left arm and parts of his body had also been struck. This creature's spit was acidic, and Alan nearly shouted out loud when he saw the damage that the acid had done. His left eye was completely destroyed, and the skin seemed to sizzle as more of the flesh was being eaten away. It was also beginning to eat away at his respirator, and Alan was sure he could hear his muffled cries of anguish.

There was a sudden loud shriek and the ground rumbled. Looking behind him, Alan saw that the great worm was now retreating back under the ground. Without hesitation, he half-ran, half-dragged Alistair back to the airlock of the _Serenity_. Behind them the sand lifted as the worm burrowed towards them. As soon as both were inside the airlock, the ship lurched into the sky without even waiting for the ramp to close; Alan hung onto the floor grating and Alistair for dear life. It was not a moment too soon, for the worm burst through the ground right below where the ship had been, the sharp scythes and the long tongue stretching out for it. As the sounds of one last, frustrated roar died away, the ramp was closed and the airlock was decontaminated.

As soon as the airlock doors opened Alan peeled off his and Alistair's respirators. The gargoyle cried out in anguish, his arm and wing handing limp and useless as Alan tried to drag him to the infirmary. Liara and Call emerged from the common room to find out what the noise was about, and both gasped in horror when they saw the state that Alistair was in.

"Oh Goddess!" Liara exclaimed as the two women ran to Alistair. "What happened?"

"That doesn't matter right now!" Alan groaned. "Just get him to the infirmary!"

Liara nodded as she and Call supported Alistair between them. Alistair felt to them like a dead weight, and Alan kept praying over and over again that he had simply fallen unconscious. His heart pounded painfully as he ran up to the bridge. It was rare that he felt pure terror these days, but now he felt it; he was worried about Alistair, and also about what this attack and the clues he had picked up implied. As he ran into the bridge, Bishop turned to him, looking very apologetic.

"I tried to warn you both about the seismic activity that creature was generating," he said, sounding unusually worried. "Something was jamming my transmissions! I could not possibly-!"

"It's okay, Bishop," Alan said, his voice trembling. "My commlink wouldn't work either... I need to talk to Kiryuu." He sat himself down at the co-pilot's seat.

"Patching you through, Captain," said Bishop, turning back to the pilot's control. The ship became still as it re-entered space, and moments later Kiryuu's face appeared on one of the screens.

"_Alan?"_ he asked. _"Alan, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."_

"That distress signal..." Alan breathed, trying to steady his nerves. "It was a fucking trap! Somebody planted the transmitter there on top of... I dunno, it must have been a nest or something. This giant worm attacked the troops... The transmitter must have doubled as a radio jammer, so that they couldn't send for help... It wiped those poor bastards out, and nearly got us. Alistair's beat up really bad... I don't know if he's going to make it."

"_A giant worm?"_ Kiryuu breathed, now looking very worried. _"No... not again..."_

"What do you mean 'again'?" Alan demanded.

"_It must have been four years ago now,"_ Kiryuu said. _"We lost contact with our pioneer team that touched down on the planet Akuze. We sent a squad of ODSTs there to investigate, and... They were also attacked by one of these giant worms. We called it a 'Thresher Maw'. From collaborative research with the other races we later found out that they spread out across the galaxy as spores which are robust enough to survive for prolonged periods in deep space and atmospheric re-entry. There is never usually more than two or three to a planet, but they're the reason so many planets remain uninhabited. You never know for sure when one will strike._

"_There is something else you should know. Commander Shepard was the only marine who survived the Akuze massacre. Her reputation as a survivor is well-documented, as she was also the only survivor of the Covenant's attack on Kholo, when she was just ten years old. She has been through experiences that would have destroyed most people, which was why Anderson recommended her for the Spectres in the first place."_ He paused for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts. _"I'll put a quarantine order on Edolus. No-one is to set foot on that planet and is to ignore any signals that come from it. I want to know who set that transmitter there, and what they were hoping to achieve. Also I want you to get back to the Citadel as fast as possible. We just received Shepard's report from Feros, and I want you all there for Dr. T'Soni's testimony. Take your ship down to Zakera Ward; there'll be a med-team standing by there to tend to Alistair."_

"I just hope he survives the journey," Alan groaned. "Liara's doing what she can, but from the way that thing attacked..." He broke off. He was badly shaken by the events on the planet below, and considered it a miracle that they got away from that monstrous Thresher Maw at all.

"_I know, Alan,"_ said Kiryuu. _"I'll pass on your report to Lord Hood. He has to know what happened to his men. Don't worry; we'll find out who did this and make them pay for it. I'll see you when you reach the Citadel."_

With that, Kiryuu signed off.

0

The Wards – the five long arms extending from the Presidium on the Citadel – were not too dissimilar to the large megacities back on Earth. Many people who had come here seeking a better life but earned considerably less than those on the Presidium resided in them, and parts of them were rife with crime. They were a melting pot of alien cultures, and humans were still finding their place on the station in spite of opposition by several extremists.

The _Serenity_ was instructed to go to a special docking bay, close to the largest hospital on the Zakera Ward. Upon arrival they instantly found a medical team of various Asari and Salarians waiting for them. They took the crippled Alistair and loaded him onto a special shuttle bound for the hospital. There was not enough room in it for any other passengers, so the others had to follow by using a public shuttle. When they got there they found that Alistair could not receive visitors, as he had already been moved into surgery.

The hospital was a clean place, if sparsely decorated. By chance, it was also the same place where Rachel had been sent to, so after unsuccessfully trying to visit Alistair they decided to cut their losses and drop in on Rachel while they were there. The previous engineer of the _Serenity_ was lying comfortably on one of the beds in a private ward, her long brown hair now looking somewhat untidy and her belly large and very pregnant. Her face shone with a child-like glee as she saw her former crew-mates, her husband among them, enter the room.

"Aw, guys!" she said as they walked in. José marched in front of the others and kissed her lovingly on the lips. "I was wondering when you'd all come by!"

"How you doin', sweetheart?" asked José. peering over at the lump. "Not too comfortable in there, is she?"

"Oh, it won't be long now," said Rachel. "I was told that it shouldn't be any longer than a week. I thought I felt her kicking earlier; she really wants out." An odd sort of smirk passed on her lips. "The press wanted a word with me earlier, you know. 'First human born on the Citadel', and all that? Some skinny cow called Khalisah al-Jilani, kept going on about this being a publicity stunt and about being the Council's new pets. I just told her to ram it."

"Good on ya," said José, now looking immensely proud. "I would have punched her, myself, but there ya go."

It was then that Rachel looked towards the others. Seeing just Alan, Bishop and Call stood there, she became puzzled.

"Where's my favourite bird-shaped gargoyle?" she asked.

"He's..." Alan stalled, not sure how to put what he wanted to say to her. He didn't want to give her such worry, not in her condition, but on the other hand he believed in honesty between friends and comrades.

"He was attacked," he finally said. "He's down in cyber-surgery now, getting patched up."

"Aww, no," said Rachel, her face falling. "Well, at least there'll be somebody I know in this hospital now."

All was silent for a moment. Alan couldn't help smiling slightly; even now, Rachel still had a knack for finding the positives in even the worst situations. The only time he had ever seen her truly upset was when she had discovered the truth of what scientists had done to her aunt, River Tam, a member of the previous _Serenity_ crew alongside her parents Simon Tam and Kaylee Frye. Other than that, nothing seemed to faze her for too long.

They spent another fifteen minutes at Rachel's bedside. Liara seemed particularly fascinated at the idea of human birth, as she had never witnessed one before. Eventually they decided that they had to be off back to the Presidium. Once Call was out of earshot, however, Rachel gestured for Alan to move closer to her bed.

"Call's like a droid version of Swifty," she said. "She really doesn't like the changes I made to _Serenity_, does she?"

"She's only doing her job," Alan said, patiently. "I've told her to leave your stuff alone though, so she's just going to have to get used to it. After all you've done for _Serenity_, I wouldn't have it any other way."

As they left the hospital, the doctors had nothing new to say about Alistair's condition, so they headed back to the embassies to find Kiryuu. As their shuttle landed they actually saw Kiryuu standing right outside the embassy building, waiting for them and drawing unfriendly looks from the various aliens around him. He approached them as they stepped out of the shuttle, concern lining his face.

"How is he?" he asked.

"He's in a bad way," said Alan. "The doctors say it's a miracle he's still alive. They're patching him up in surgery now, but God alone knows if he'll ever really recover. Doesn't help that they don't know anything about gargoyles here."

"I'm flying in some of my best doctors from the Utah Foundation," said Kiryuu. "Hopefully they'll be able to advise the Citadel doctors on anything that can help. Rest assured that I won't let your friend fall without a fight."

Alan wasn't sure how to respond to that but with a brief nod. When he had first met Kiryuu he saw him as an incredibly deceitful figure. Now, however, after Kiryuu had spent much of the last three decades having to lead the peoples of Earth in times of war, Alan knew better than to doubt his sincerity.

"Anyway," said Kiryuu, "it will be some time before Shepard arrives. She said that she has some other matters to attend to first. This is fortunate as there is something I need to discuss with both Alan and Mr. Lovano. Bishop, if you and Call would be so kind as to wait in conference room 27, we will be there as quickly as we can. You too, Dr. T'Soni. I want Commander Shepard's squad to hear your story as well."

Bishop and Call looked at each other, puzzled, but in the end they agreed, while Liara gave a quick bow. So while they headed up one flight of stairs towards the conference rooms, Kiryuu led Alan and José back towards the UNSC embassy.

"Before you enter," Kiryuu suddenly said, stopping outside the door. "I must warn you not to act irrationally, and not to breathe a word of this to Telek, not yet."

At first Alan wondered what Kiryuu was talking about, but as the trio entered the room they found another figure waiting for them. It wasn't either Captain Anderson or Ambassador Udina. The figure was a tall Sangheili, dressed in a black combat harness, his face looking weary. It took a few moments for Alan to recognise him, but when he did so he audibly gasped, while José's eyes narrowed.

"You!" he shouted, before rounding on Kiryuu. "What the hell is this pendejo doing here?"

"Dorva 'Elus is here on my orders, Mr. Lovano," said Kiryuu. "And would you kindly not use that language in my office?"

"Captain Tyler, José Lovano," said the Sangheili known as Dorva, giving a small bow. "I know you have every reason not to want my presence, but-"

"¡Beza mi culo!" José spat. "I've not forgotten the trouble you've given us. I haven't forgotten how you got my buddies killed, or how you almost got the captain killed by Telek's forces!"

"Kiryuu, what the hell's going on?" Alan demanded. "The last time I saw Dorva was five years ago! I thought the Elites had executed him!"

"There is more that you need to know," Kiryuu sighed. "I only hope that you are both willing to listen."

"Talk fast, Ambassador," José snarled, "If I don't like what I hear I'm calling Telek about this. I can't wait to see what he'd have to say about this."

Kiryuu gave a frustrated murmur and ran a claw through his dreadlocks.

"After our return to Earth," he said, "I persuaded Telek to hand Dorva over to my custody. Telek wasn't happy about it, but after such conflicting reports of the incident on Illium and on the outcome of Dorva's betrayal I wanted to settle the matter once and for all. Dunkelzahn and I both interrogated him, using our abilities to prevent any possibility of concealment or lies.

"We can confirm that he was not lying in his confession to you. Truth threatened to have his family terminated if he did not abandon Telek's forces. The incident with Mr. Lovano's ODST unit was nought but a grim test of his resolve. Though it shames him to admit it, Dorva panicked; the fear of his family's safety consumed him to the point where it did not even occur to him to turn to Telek for help. That fear was what led to the deaths of twelve good soldiers. By the time he realised his mistake he was in too deep to turn back."

"Fucking idiot..." Alan snarled. "I can't believe he never thought to get help, knowing what Telek was up against."

"When someone you love is threatened," Kiryuu sighed, "it can make the best of us act irrationally. It is unfortunate that, of all the Sangheili who defected with Telek, Dorva was the one with the most personal attachment still left behind, the one with the most vulnerability that the Prophets could exploit. He was a coward and a fool of the highest order; that is not in dispute, but I cannot say that I blame him for trying to save those he loved.

"However, Dorva was not welcomed back into the Covenant with open arms. Even though Truth kept to his word and Dorva's family was safe, from that time on Dorva was forever known as a traitor; a rogue Sangheili. He was branded with the Mark of Shame and remained a prisoner, tortured and beaten." As he mentioned this Alan saw Dorva reach his hand up to his chest, a pained expression on his face. "I do know for certain that, in spite of the hardships and contrary to what his comrades believed, he never betrayed the location of Reach, or any other sensitive information, to the Covenant. His only chance of escape came when the Flood invaded High Charity; he nearly lost his life trying to get out, escaping into a galaxy which now wanted him dead for his actions. It was small wonder that he decided to go on the run, hiring Eclipse to help him go into hiding, now a ghost looking for a place to die." He paused for a moment, rubbing his temple with a claw.

"I believe you did the right thing in sparing Dorva's life. Not just for his sake, but for Telek's. Even if we take into account the cultural differences between humans and Sangheili, I know Telek better than he probably knows himself. The truth of the circumstances behind Dorva's betrayal would have died with him; had Telek killed him before learning the truth, it would have been easy for him to rationalise the act by maintaining the belief that Dorva was a black-hearted monster, who betrayed his allies willingly and without hesitation, and thus deserved to die. He could have continued on his way, focused and with no regrets.

"However, you made Dorva reveal the truth, and that pushed him into a grey area which none of us could have anticipated. It seems reasonable to assume that Telek heard everything while he was cloaked, waiting for the right time to strike. In spite of what he may have said, I know that killing Dorva after learning the truth would have hurt him greatly in the long-run. He would have questioned himself endlessly, wondering if he did the right thing after all, and that endless nagging doubt would have destroyed him. After killing a shell-shocked, defenceless being, forced against his will into betraying everything he stood for and living with the guilt and horror of what he had done, I am sure Telek would have come to regard himself as a murderer, his action a dark stain upon his honour.

"When I realised this, I came to the same conclusion that you did; Dorva made a terrible mistake, but Telek would have made another one by killing him. My refusal to extradite him got me into a lot of trouble with the Sangheili High Council; the Orion Alliance was almost destroyed before it even started. I have kept him in custody for the last five years, so he has not gone unpunished for his crime. If anything, he has been punishing himself more than anyone else could. I can see that he is absolutely determined to redeem himself for his error, and I believe your mission is the opportunity he needs to reclaim his shattered honour. You risked your neck to save him five years ago; now that you know that it was not in vain, would you really be so willing to deny him that opportunity?"

Alan could not think of a reply straight away. He knew that Kiryuu was right; he had tried to save Dorva from Telek's wrath for those same reasons, and as a result had almost lost his life. It had taken a lot of effort on his part to avoid suffering at Telek's hands for his transgression. He thought Kiryuu was being rather cheeky though, wanting them to accept Dorva as a member of the _Serenity_ crew, especially since Dorva knew all-too-well how much trouble he had caused them. On the other hand, with Alistair out of action, he knew that they would need someone to fill in for him. He just hadn't wanted it to be this way. In the end he sighed, rubbing his temple.

"Telek's not gonna like this..." he moaned.

"Just on this occasion," said Kiryuu, "I believe that what he doesn't know won't hurt him. When he does find out, as he is apt to do, then I will intervene and make sure he does not do anything drastic. You don't have to be friends, but you do need all the help you can get." He looked between them all, as José was still staring daggers at Dorva, while the Sangheili now looked very apprehensive. "For now, I will settle for ceasing hostilities."

"_Mr. President,"_ came Captain Anderson's voice at that very moment, through Kiryuu's holo-terminal on his desk. _"The Normandy's just docked at the Citadel."_

"Thank you, Captain," said Kiryuu. "Have Shepard and her strike team head to conference room 27 at the embassies. She will find Dr. T'Soni and the _Serenity_ crew waiting for her there."

"_Understood, sir,"_ replied Anderson before signing off.

"Well, this is it," said Kiryuu. "We should go meet them now."

Dorva crossed over the room to where José was waiting by the door. The soldier still looked furious; he seemed to have taken Dorva's appointment to the crew as a personal insult. Dorva, for his part, looked very sheepish.

"José," he said to him, "I know that nothing I say will-"

"Don't tempt me, Dorva," José snarled, his fists curled tightly. "Just don't tempt me."

Afterwards, José and Dorva left the office in silence. Alan could not shake off the feeling that this was a bad idea, as he was sure that José would constantly be at Dorva's throat. Kiryuu stood back to allow Alan to pass him.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked, as Alan at first didn't move. "It would not be prudent of us to keep them waiting."

Hearing Kiryuu's voice jolted something in Alan's memory, and he knew that there was something he still needed to discuss with the ambassador.

"Not so fast, Kiryuu," he said rather forcibly. "Earlier you were going on about something that had got you spooked. You mentioned the relays as well. What were you going on about then?"

"Alan," said Kiryuu, shaking his head. "I already told you that I didn't want to say anything before I knew for certain-"

"No, Kiryuu," barked Alan. "Whenever you get a bad feeling, the galaxy almost gets destroyed. I want to know what's got you worried right now before it ends up blowing up in my face."

For a moment Alan thought that Kiryuu was going to attack him for such insolence, as he had prone to doing in the past. Instead, he shook his head and closed the door to the office.

"Alright," he sighed. "I suppose you deserve to know what you may be getting yourself into. I must tell you not to breathe a word of what you are about to hear to anyone, not even to Telek. I don't want to go shouting about this until I have concrete evidence to support my theories." He crossed over to the balcony, looking out over the lush gardens of the plaza. By now it was evening on the Citadel, and the false sky on the Presidium's ceiling had changed to the golden colours of a planet's sunset.

"Last night," Kiryuu began, "I had... well, I cannot honestly call it a dream. It was more like a vision, like whatever is imprinted inside Shepard's mind. I must have tapped into the Array while I slept. I saw a fleet of ships that looked just like the Geth vessel you described from Eden Prime. At the head of the fleet was... Well, a mutual acquaintance of ours." He crossed over to his desk, and spoke again before Alan could think of a reply. "I contacted Malcho to enquire about certain details of my vision, and to cut a long story short he showed me this." From a safe on the wall behind his desk he pulled out a small purple-black stone and held it up for Alan to see. "Does this look familiar to you?"

Alan walked to the desk to get a closer look. As he peered at the stone, he suddenly realised where he had seen it before.

"I saw this stuff all over the place in Chicago," he said. "The Invae were practically building nests out of it."

"Exactly," said Kiryuu. "This is crystallised Element Zero. According to Malcho's report, it has also been found in Knoxville, at the very site of the battle that changed the world. It has appeared again in New York, and at the disposal site of King Ghidorah's bones. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you what, or rather who, links all of those sites together."

"You don't mean..." Alan muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I'm afraid so," said Kiryuu grimly. "If Malcho's research is to be believed, then eezo is King Ghidorah's own energy! I'm not sure how, but think of the implications that this holds. Many of the civilisations of this galaxy are dependant on eezo, especially in the use of the mass relays and the Citadel itself. Can you imagine the chaos that would be caused if that monster is the progenitor of eezo, if he is able to manipulate it at his leisure? Eezo is inherently dangerous, and we must find a way to eliminate our dependency on it." He projected his last sentence into Alan's mind, in case there were any monitoring devices in the office. _"If it means we have to go so far as to destroy the mass relays, then we must find a way to do so."_

"Good luck with that," Alan said scornfully. "Without those relays it takes forever to get anywhere, even in slip-space! Right now we need those relays to catch up to Saren and stop the Reapers coming back!"

"I know, and that is the worst of it," said Kiryuu. "Eezo will be our downfall, I am sure of it, but it is such an essential part of galactic civilisation that we cannot easily get rid of it." He took a deep breath before continuing. "There is something else. Ships like the one you described also appeared in my vision. If my theory is right, the Geth are using a ship that is almost certainly connected to King Ghidorah. My vision showed a fleet of them being destroyed, but if some of them survived then that gives King Ghidorah another weapon to use against us. For all we know, they may even be the first weapon he ever created, over 200 million years ago, but that's mere theory at this point."

"Just like everything else you've said," replied Alan. "You said yourself that this is could all be a load of cock-and-bull."

"I know," said Kiryuu. "Now do you see why I am reluctant to share this information at this point? If I tried to warn the Council, with nothing but a piece of rock with a voice in it that only I can hear, and a bad dream, then the best I could hope for would be to be laughed out of the Council chamber. No, Alan; safer to remain quiet at this point, and hope that we can eventually prove all of this. Malcho is already taking measures to reduce dependency on eezo, but Lofwyr will take a lot of convincing. There may be no way to account for it completely." He sighed, closing his eyes tight. "I never thought that I would find myself cursing Telek for bringing humanity to the Citadel. Now I fear we are all in a trap that is waiting to be sprung."

Alan was silent for a moment, taking in everything that he had just heard. He had to admit that he found it somewhat hard to believe, but then again Kiryuu had not given him a reason to doubt him. The revelation about the crystallised eezo was too big to ignore, and yet Alan knew that it was not enough to convince anyone of anything. He could see lines of worry now etched across Kiryuu's forehead.

"I know this is a lot to take in right now," said Kiryuu. "Just remember what I said, and don't tell anyone about it, not yet. Now we must focus on stopping the Reapers from returning, and I am sure we will find out more about them as we hunt for Saren. I am sure Shepard's vision is the key to solving this mystery. Speaking of which, now we really do need to go meet with her team, and find out what Dr. T'Soni has to say."

Alan nodded, and moved to follow Kiryuu out of the office. He felt that they had wasted enough time talking about possibilities when they had to be focusing on the current crisis. In spite of this he didn't like the idea of leaving Telek in the dark, but at present there was no sense in spreading the word of this without anything conclusive to show. So he followed Kiryuu down the clean white corridors to the conference room. As they approached the door they found two figures waiting outside leaning nonchalantly against the wall; Garrus Vakarian and Urdnot Wrex. Alan reasoned that this meant Shepard's team had arrived while he and Kiryuu were talking.

"So, Vakarian," drawled Wrex, "waddaya think of this mission?"

"A chance to hunt a maniac," replied Garrus, "across the galaxy, with no rules or red tape to get in the way? It's my idea of heaven."

"There may just be hope for you yet, Turian," replied Wrex in a dry tone. As Kiryuu and Alan approached, Wrex wandered into the conference room while Garrus stood up straighter. At first Alan thought he was going to salute.

"Ambassador, Captain," said Garrus, nodding curtly. "They're all waiting for you now."

"I'm surprised you and Wrex are on speaking terms," said Kiryuu. "My understanding was that Krogans are highly xenophobic, especially as far as Turians and Salarians are concerned."

"We both figure that the enemy of my enemy is my friend," said Garrus. "What about you, Ambassador? Still resisting temptation?"

"Officer," said Kiryuu dryly, "do you honestly believe I would willingly jeopardise what little credibility I have on this station for the sake of acquiring the Keepers' daily rota?" There was an awkward pause, as both Kiryuu and Garrus eyed each other, apparently sizing each other up. Garrus then nodded and then disappeared into the conference room.

"What was that all about?" asked Alan.

"It was a year ago now," said Kiryuu. "I was trying to scan one of the Keepers on the Citadel. You know, those strange little insect-like creatures that are walking around? They have apparently been on the Citadel for a long time and keep all of the systems maintained, so no-one bothers to try to understand or interfere with them. Garrus caught me at my scanning attempts. Like most aliens he's wary around AIs, and regardless of my position as an ambassador he threatened to have me thrown off the Citadel if I so much as jaywalked."

"Ouch," said Alan. "From what you said, I also got the feeling that it's rare to see Turians and Krogans hanging around the proverbial water-cooler."

"When you get enough time," said Kiryuu, "I suggest you read up on the Krogan Rebellions and the genophage. That should give you some context. Anyway, we've wasted enough time."

The two of them stepped through into the conference room. It was a modest-sized chamber with numerous chairs situated around a large oblong table. There were not enough chairs to accommodate thirteen people, so some had taken to leaning against the wall. Garrus, Wrex, José and Dorva all did so, while the rest were trying to make themselves comfortable. As Kiryuu entered the room, Shepard, Kaidan and Ashley stood to attention and saluted.

"At ease," said Kiryuu. "I thank you all for coming. The Council has read your reports from both Feros and Therum, and I have been studying copies of these reports." He turned to look at Shepard. "I must profess that I am disgusted by those sick experiments ExoGeni was doing on that colony, and how they allowed things to deteriorate to such a lamentable position even before the Geth attacked. It is good to hear that you managed to save the colonists. With hope, in time they will make a full recovery. Rest assured that I will do everything in my power to ensure that ExoGeni is made to stand for their crimes, and I will fund the redevelopment of the colony out of my own pocket."

"I'm sure they'll appreciate it, Mr. President," said Shepard. Like most humans Shepard always thought of Kiryuu as the President of the UNSC rather than a Citadel ambassador. "We learned more about Saren's actions on Feros, and more importantly some new information regarding the Conduit."

"All in good time, Commander," said Kiryuu. "For now, for those of you who do not know her, I wish to introduce you to Dr. Liara T'Soni. She has been researching Forerunner excavations and was targeted by Saren for her knowledge. Fortunately we can now guarantee her protection now that she is here."

Liara stood up and took a small bow.

"Thank you, Ambassador," she said. "I also want to thank Captain Tyler and his crew. If they had not arrived when they did I would surely be dead by now, or have been dragged off to Saren."

"It was a near thing, mind," said Alan. "I don't think the _Serenity_ would have coped had she had to land on molten lava. It tends to fry her sensors and melt her hull."

"How can you crack jokes about it?" asked Liara, looking dumbfounded. "We almost died down there!"

"Ah, let him have it, Doctor," said Shepard. "Joker does the same thing. Anyone who pulled my ass out of the fire would be entitled to a few bad jokes."

"I'll hold you to that, Commander," Garrus purred.

"I see..." said Liara, though she still looked unsure as she looked at Kiryuu. "I don't have a lot of experience dealing with Earthlings, but I am grateful to you. Your associates saved my life."

"So what did Saren want with you anyway?" asked Kaidan. "Do you know something about the Conduit?"

"Only that it was somehow connected to the Forerunner extinction," said Liara. "That is my real area of expertise. I mentioned it briefly to you, Ambassador," she added, turning to Kiryuu, "and I have spent the last fifty years trying to discover what happened to them."

"Fifty years?" asked Call, looking puzzled. "How old are you, Liara?"

"I hate to admit it," said Liara, now looking embarrassed, "but I am only a hundred and six."

"Damn!" chuckled Ashley. "I hope I look that good when I'm your age."

"A century may seem like a long time to a short-lived species like yours," said Liara, "but among the Asari I am barely considered more than a child. That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth other Asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories on what happened to the Forerunners."

"Why did you not approach any of Earth's historians?" asked Bishop. "Or any of the Sangheili, for that matter? Both of our races have a great deal of experience with the Forerunners and their technology. We learned what happened to them during the Covenant War."

"I did," said Liara. "At least I was able to approach Earth's scholars; Sangheili are very reluctant to share their findings with the Council races these days. I was once approached by the owner of Omak Technologies, one Malcho, who wanted to run comparisons between my research and his own. In-particular, he requested samples of Forerunner scripture that I had recovered from my own excavations, but he did not share his discoveries from the study, if any. He told me of humanity's connection to the Forerunners, and of the role the Flood and the Halos played in their extinction."

"I've got another theory on what happened," said Shepard.

"With all due respect, Commander," said Liara, "I had heard every theory out there. The problem was finding enough evidence to support them. The Forerunners left remarkably little behind; we didn't know about the existence of the Halos until recently, and even then they have since been quarantined to prevent the spread of the Flood, and other structures of theirs that could be excavated are extremely rare. It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It is like someone came along after the Forerunners were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredible part; according to my findings, the Forerunners were not the first galactic civilisation to mysteriously vanish. What the galaxy has been naming Prothean technology may have existed from an actual civilisation that pre-dated the Forerunners. Ambassador Knight's reactions to the data that I recovered from the Therum site would seem to support this idea, and if I'm right it means that this cycle has happened before."

"Where'd you come up with this theory?" asked Shepard. "I thought there wasn't any evidence."

"I have been working on this for fifty years," said Liara. "I have tracked down every scrap and shred of evidence. Eventually subtle patterns start to emerge; patterns that hint at the truth. It is... difficult to explain to someone else. Before today I could not point to one specific thing to prove my case. It was more a feeling that I had coming from a half-century of dedicated research. I believe that now that contact with humanity and its own findings on the Forerunners has been established, I will be able to prove it. There were other civilisations before the Forerunners. This cycle has repeated itself many times over."

"So if the Forerunners were not the first," said Dorva, "then who was?"

"I don't know," said Liara simply. "There is barely any evidence on the Forerunners, even less on those who came before them. I cannot prove my theory, but I know I am right."

"This theory..." said Kiryuu, his face looking grave. "Is it anything to do with the theory of 'galactic extinction cycles' you mentioned?"

"Exactly," said Liara. "The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilisation rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. The Forerunners rose up from a single world until their empire spanned an entire galaxy, yet even they climbed to the top on the ruins of those who came before. The Mass Relays and the Citadel, their greatest achievements, are based on the technology of those who came before them. Then, like all the other forgotten civilisations in galactic history, the Forerunners suddenly disappeared. I had dedicated my life to figuring out why, until I made contact with Malcho and learned of the Halos. Even then I am not convinced that your Earth scholars have uncovered the whole story. It still brings me no nearer to finding out what destroyed those that came before the Forerunners, in a time before the Halos were constructed."

"I know what happened," said Shepard. "They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines; the Reapers. Those machines were also somehow involved in the extinction of the Forerunners."

"The... the Reapers?" Liara stammered. "But I have never heard of... How do you know this? What evidence do you have?"

"There was a damaged Forerunner beacon on Eden Prime," said Shepard. "It burned a vision into my brain. I'm still trying to work out what it all means."

"Are you sure it was actually Forerunner, Commander?" asked Alan. "From what we've learned so far, there might be reason to doubt that."

"Don't assume I don't read, Captain," said Shepard frostily. "I've seen Forerunner symbols before; they were on the Halos, and they were all over the beacon's displays. They're the genuine article."

"Visions?" Liara said, as she suddenly started to look more excited. "Yes, that makes sense! The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user! Finding one that still works is extremely rare! No wonder the Geth attacked Eden Prime; the chance to find a working Forerunner beacon, even a badly-damaged one, would be worth almost any risk! But the beacons were programmed to only work properly with Forerunner physiology; whatever information you received would have been unclear. I am amazed you were able to make sense of it at all! A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander." There was a clear tone of admiration in her voice which lead Alan to suspect that she admired Shepard for more than just her connection to the vision; he had heard a lot of unsavoury rumours about Asari promiscuity.

"This isn't helping us find Saren," Kaidan suddenly barked, "or the Conduit!"

"Of course," said Liara apologetically. "You're right. I am sorry; my scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit, or Saren."

"Thank you, Dr. T'Soni," said Kiryuu. He had been listening to Liara's account with interest, and Alan wondered if he had somehow connected it to his own findings. The ambassador turned to Shepard. "You said you had uncovered new information on Feros, Commander?"

"Yes, Mr. President," said Shepard. "The Thorian creature that we fought had been on Feros since even before the Forerunners. Somehow – I'm not sure exactly how – it was able to absorb their bodies and their knowledge, taking it all into itself."

"Sounds worryingly like a Gravemind," said Kiryuu darkly. "What you described of this Thorian and how its spores controlled the colonists worries me. It is unfortunate that it could not be reasoned with, but maybe it's for the best that it is dead. I shall look through ExoGeni's files and see what more I can find about the creature."

"How exactly does this help us?" asked Call.

"All the knowledge that the Thorian had absorbed all came together," said Tali. "Over time it created the Cipher, and from what Shiala said it is the key to deciphering the vision. She said that it somehow adjusts the brain itself, enabling it to decipher Forerunner data. As she put it, it would allow someone to 'think like a Forerunner'."

"Wait, wait," Alan cut in. "Who's Shiala?"

"She's one of the Asari commandos that joined up with Benezia," said Kaidan. "According to her, Benezia somehow learned of what Saren was up to, and tried to persuade him to abandon his plans, or at least steer him down a less violent path. Only those who wanted to go with her did so. Instead, her plan backfired, and now they're all willing servants of Saren."

"How did that happen?" asked Kiryuu. "I cannot imagine that any Asari, let alone Benezia, would willingly go along with such madness."

"It's something to do with that Geth ship," said Garrus. "According to Shiala, it's called Sovereign. She stated that just being around it somehow makes Saren's arguments more persuasive. Spend enough time around it and you'd gladly lick Saren's ass if he asked you to."

"Hmm..." Kiryuu murmured, scratching his chin. "What happened to this Shiala? Where is she now?"

"Saren gave her to the Thorian as part of a trade to get the Cipher," said Kaidan. "She was bonded with it until we busted her out. She's now staying at Zhu's Hope to help with the reconstruction. She was nice enough to give Shepard the Cipher while she was at it."

"Well, I'm all for second chances," said Kiryuu. "So with this Cipher you can now understand the vision?"

"Not right now," said Shepard. "Just getting the Cipher shook me up. I try to focus, but it still doesn't make a great deal of sense."

"Commander," said Kiryuu, "if you will allow me, I want to try and help you to decipher the vision. If I join my consciousness to yours I may be able to make some sense of it."

"How's that possible?" asked Liara, confused. "You're an AI. How can you join consciousness with an organic?"

"Mr. President, are you sure about this?" asked Ashley in an urgent tone. "I don't like the idea of you demonstrating your abilities in front of aliens. No offence, but you have a hard enough time getting the Council to listen to you as it is!"

"No offence taken, Chief Williams," Kiryuu replied calmly. "However, I see no alternative." He gave a warning look to everyone in the room, particularly at the alien members of Shepard's team. "What you are all about to see must never leave this room. There is every chance that I could be thrown off the Citadel by doing this, but if we are to stop Saren and the return of the Reapers then I must take that risk."

"Do it," said Shepard firmly, getting to her feet. "We don't have much time." She marched closer to Kiryuu and stood opposite him. Kiryuu's golden cat-like eyes peered intently at Shepard's own green ones. Kiryuu raised his gloved claws to either side of Shepard's head.

"Try to relax, Commander," he said, as he began to peer into the depths of the Commander's mind. For a moment there was total silence, as everyone observed the two closely. Liara began to wince slightly; Alan had heard that most Asari were accomplished with ESP capability, including telepathy, which was what made them such powerful biotic adepts. He too began to feel strange, and for a moment he thought he saw quick flashes, like images from a dream that tried to resurface. He thought he saw figures, and something enormous chasing them, but he could not make out anything clearly. He reasoned later that it was the deep blood-bond between members of the Godzilla family, a bond that somehow connected their minds in many ways as well, that had caused him to see these flashes.

A moment later Kiryuu moved his hands away and staggered back. Shepard blinked and held a hand up to her head, as if experiencing a sudden headache.

"Incredible..." Kiryuu breathed. "The images were so vivid, everything was so intense... For a moment, I could have sworn that I had tapped into the Array itself!"

"I saw flashes of the vision too," said Liara, her eyes wide and her blue skin looking slightly pale. "I have never felt such strong psychic vibrations... I never imagined that an AI could gain ESP ability!" She looked between Kiryuu and Shepard in absolute awe. "You both must be remarkably strong-willed; what you have both seen would have destroyed a lesser mind!"

"Did you see anything?" Alan asked. Kiryuu took a few seconds to compose himself before he answered.

"The beacon on Eden Prime must have been badly damaged," he said. "Large parts of the vision are missing. The data transferred into Commander Shepard's mind is incomplete."

"You must have seen something," said Shepard, almost pleadingly.

"I was able to interpret the data relayed through your vision," said Kiryuu. "At least what was there, but something was missing."

"Saren must have the missing information," Liara chimed in. "Maybe he found another beacon. If we can find the missing data from your vision, we can piece it all together. Perhaps we will find out more about the Conduit that he seeks."

"Then that's your next assignment," said Kiryuu firmly. "Shepard, I'm sure this goes without saying, but I want you and your team to continue the search for Saren. Gather any clues that you can that may help to complete the vision. We must find out what the Forerunners were trying to say."

"Take me with you, Commander!" Liara suddenly said, standing firmly on her feet.

"But Dr. T'Soni..." said Kiryuu, surprised. "After all that you have been through, surely you would be safer staying here?"

"Saren's men may still be searching for me," said Liara. "I would be as safe with Commander Shepard's crew as I would be on the Citadel." She looked away for a moment, looking forlorn. "I need to see my mother. While you chase Saren there is a very strong possibility that you will encounter her. I need to hear her justify what she's doing, say it to my face. My knowledge of the Forerunners may also help you in your efforts to piece together the vision."

"And her biotics'll come in handy when the fightin' starts," Wrex grunted.

"It's up to you, Commander," said Kiryuu. "Remember that you don't answer to me anymore."

Shepard nodded, and approached Liara with her arm outstretched. The two of them shook hands.

"Good to have you on the team, Dr. T'Soni," she said.

"Please," said Liara, looking slightly embarrassed. "Just call me Liara."

"Alan, there are other matters within Shepard's report that I want you and your crew to look into," said Kiryuu. "However, I believe that the brief can wait until tomorrow. I don't know how long it's been since any of you ate or slept, but I suggest you all get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day; I want everyone to be rested and at the top of their game. I have arranged quarters for all of you here on the Presidium, so enjoy their comforts at my expense," he added, with a wry smile. "You're all dismissed."

Everyone started to file out of the room. José kept a mistrusting eye on Dorva as they left. Kiryuu shook his head as they passed, and eventually only he and Alan were left in the room.

"Keep an eye on them both, Alan," he said. "I have faith in them both, but all the same it would be wise to prevent them from killing each other."

"Will do," said Alan. "By the way, how's that Wrex guy involved in all this? I get Liara, Tali and Garrus, but why's Wrex here? Just for the fun of it?"

"What makes you think that I know anything?" asked Kiryuu, trying to look merely politely puzzled.

"Ah, come on," Alan smirked. "I saw the look on your face when you first met him. What did you find in that head of his?"

"He's a very troubled individual," said Kiryuu, shaking his head, "even if he doesn't show it. He's turned his back on his people, although I don't blame him as his ideas for their future almost got him killed by his own father. Most of his people that I have seen are more set on doing nothing but glorifying pointless violence, rather than restoring their dying race." He saw Alan raise an eyebrow and coughed; clearly that was not what Alan was talking about.

"He was once hired by Saren himself, though he didn't realise who Saren was until he met Shepard. He was hired with other mercenaries to raid a Volus transport ship. Wrex had no idea why Saren chose to attack the freighter, as there was nothing particularly valuable on board, but he did see him walking through the ship at one point talking to no-one. It was only a gut feeling that told him something was amiss about Saren and he left without waiting to be paid."

"Sounds like he dodged a bullet," said Alan.

"Literally," replied Kiryuu. "Within a week, every other mercenary who was involved in that mission was found dead. As to why he's helping Shepard now, even I can't tell what his reasons are for sure. The most likely is that he simply wants to be at the centre of things when the storm arrives with Shepard and Saren in the centre."

"As good a reason as any, I suppose," Alan shrugged. "I can relate; after all, how many times have I tried to be there when you've been out there saving the human race, just to watch?"

"Oh, those seem like the good old days now," said Kiryuu with a slight chuckle, "but they were Hell at the time. I don't like the situation I'm in now, but back then it certainly was not all sunshine and bunnies." He took a deep breath. "Anyway, you go and rest. I'll forward what we've learned so far to Telek and the fleet, and we'll talk again tomorrow. Good night."

With that, he stepped out of the chamber. Alan stayed in the room for a moment, thinking over everything that he had learned, until eventually he decided to go and grab a bite to eat. He had the feeling that finding a good burger bar would be difficult on the station, at least one where he knew where the meat came from.


	6. Colony of the Dead

**Colony of the Dead**

Alan awoke the next morning after feeling like he had hardly any sleep at all. He found that his sense of time was becoming stranger and stranger whenever he was in space. It had taken him some time to adjust to 'Galactic Standard Time', and as he glanced out of the window of his quarters he saw that the artificial sky overhead was displaying the sunrise. He missed seeing the sky back on Earth; it had been five years since he had last set foot on it.

He had been lying awake for a long time thinking about everything that had been said yesterday. It was clear that Shepard's team had a large fight ahead of them, and he wished that he could do more to help them. After all, he had spent the last five years in a war against the remnants of the Covenant; fighting Geth didn't seem to be that large of a stretch. However, without Alistair he knew that it wouldn't be the same; the gargoyle First Mate had always been a solid rock that the team could depend on. The rift between Dorva and José seemed simply too big for them to ever meet at any halfway point.

Checking his commlink, he saw that Kiryuu had sent him a message, requesting a meeting. Alan guessed that it would have something to do with the brief for this mission that he had mentioned the previous day. So after taking time to get dressed and grab some coffee from a dispenser he headed down to the embassy office. Kiryuu was the only person in the room; Udina was nowhere to be seen.

"So where's your counterpart?" asked Alan wryly. "You didn't lock him in his bedroom, did you?"

"No," replied Kiryuu. "I have come to recognise his timetable over the last five years. He always arrives at 9am Earth Standard Time on the dot; that means we are safe from his company for another hour. Though I do like the thought of locking him in his quarters; I will put a pin in it."

Alan snorted, but he had the feeling that Kiryuu had not invited him here to talk trash about the bureaucratic human ambassador. Kiryuu offered him a chair and he sat down, while Kiryuu himself sat down just opposite him. Alan decided to get his first concern out of the way.

"Any news about Alistair?" he asked.

"He's stable," said Kiryuu. "Stable but still unconscious. The doctors have done everything that they can for him, but that Thresher Maw acid had caused a lot of damage; there's no telling if he'll even wake up, let alone make a full recovery."

"What did Lord Hood have to say?" asked Alan. "Does he have any ideas about who could have set the trap?"

"None that I know about," said Kiryuu. "When I discussed the matter with Terrence he said that he would make his own enquiries. I have not heard anything from him since then." He ran a claw through his dreadlocks. "He seemed very agitated when I told him of the circumstances of the deaths of those poor soldiers. Not that I blame him, losing good men in the same manner twice." He sighed before he continued speaking to Alan, his expression becoming more business-like.

"You heard our discussion yesterday. I have no doubts that the _Normandy_ team will head to Noveria; I'm very curious about what the Geth are interested in up there. Shepard must be careful though; Spectres are the only form of authority the corporations on that planet will respect, and even then she will be very unwelcome. I cannot say that I am entirely happy about Dr. T'Soni putting herself in danger again, but it is her choice to make.

"Anyway, while she was on Feros, Shepard came across the personal log of an ExoGeni employee. The doctor's notes mention unease at the prospect of moving unspecified samples off of Feros and handing them over to a group calling themselves Cerberus." At this point his expression became dark. "That name was given to a top-secret black ops group on Earth. It was formed during the Covenant War, and was largely dedicated to the capture of Covenant technology, the intention being to study and reverse-engineer it so that we could construct similar devices and put us on a technological footing with them. Nothing really came of it and, as far as I know, they are presently inactive. I need your help to confirm whether this is the same group and find out what samples it is they obtained. If they have Thorian spores, then they must be destroyed before they can cause any damage. The log mentions a colony on the planet Chasca, in the Matano system in the Maroon Sea cluster."

"Have you tried contacting that colony?" asked Alan. "Someone there's bound to know something."

"I did," said Kiryuu. "Nobody is answering any calls there. Whatever this Cerberus group is doing, I fear the worst. I can't help but wonder if encouraging you all to rest last night was a mistake; who knows what kind of head-start our enemies have gained now."

"We wouldn't be doing any good if we were falling asleep in the middle of a fire-fight," Alan retorted. "We'll take a look at the colony and see what's what. I think we're more than equipped to deal with anything untoward."

"Thank you, Alan," said Kiryuu. "I won't keep you any longer; the sooner you can get to the colony, the sooner we can find some answers. I do not doubt that Shepard's team will be leaving for Noveria soon; I'll keep you informed of her progress. You're dismissed."

It seemed apparent to Alan that Kiryuu had little interest in speaking further, so he decided to see himself out of the office. As he was about to do so though he suddenly found himself being pushed aside by none other than Liara, who strode past him so forcibly that he almost had the wind knocked out of him.

"Ambassador!" she half-shouted, not even noticing Alan as he stood by the door, completely baffled. Kiryuu too was startled as he raised his head to look at the young Asari.

"Doctor T'Soni?" he asked. "What is the meaning of this interruption?"

It was then that Shepard entered the office, trailing behind Liara, wearing her casual navy-blue _Normandy_ uniform.

"I'm sorry, Mr. President!" she said, looking exasperated. "I tried to talk her out of it, but she just wouldn't listen!"

"Talk her out of what, Commander?" Kiryuu asked warily, though it was apparent that he had an idea of what Shepard meant.

"Just an hour of your time, Ambassador!" Liara said pleadingly, pacing about as if her legs had been filled with coffee. "After yesterday's events I have to know how Earth's sciences managed to create you! You are an AI with ESP capability, possibly even greater power; something which was only ever possible in an organic mind! Do you realise just how staggering the implications of this are? Earth's science must be incredibly advanced, far ahead of anything else in this galaxy, and yet you keep quiet about it!"

She was speaking so excitably that Alan was sure there was a serious danger of someone overhearing her, if they hadn't already through any monitoring devices in the room. As she continued to look excited, Kiryuu and Shepard both looked as exasperated as Alan felt. Liara had no idea just what kind of danger she was putting people in, including herself. Kiryuu rubbed his temples and looked up at the young Asari.

All of a sudden Liara jumped back, a shocked expression on her face. She looked like she had been struck by a quick electric shock. She held a hand up to her head and looked all around her, as if expecting something to jump out at her. Alan noticed that Kiryuu was looking off to the side, glowering at no-one in-particular.

"What just happened?" asked Shepard, looking puzzled.

"I..." stammered Liara. "I'm not sure. I heard another voice just now... A woman's voice, coming from inside my own head... It was asking if someone was a 'nosy little tramp'; I think it was referring to me! Then I saw... something..." she continued, now pointing right at Kiryuu. "Right where you are sitting now, Ambassador. Instead of you, I saw this... this horrible creature... I can only describe it as a plant with teeth! It's as if your mind is being shared with something else!"

"Oh, no..." Kiryuu groaned. He saw Alan glaring at him, looking almost horrified. He knew that his 'grandson' could take a good guess as to what this all meant. Shepard, however, looked utterly baffled; nobody else was supposed to know what it was that Kiryuu shared his mind with. Alan was about to open his mouth to say something, but Kiryuu shot a warning look at him and he fell silent. He then turned back to Liara.

"I understand if this is frustrating to you, Dr. T'Soni," said Kiryuu, in a rather strained voice, "but I cannot divulge every detail about myself at present. Rest assured that what you have witnessed is no danger to you or to anyone else; I will personally ensure that. However, I cannot at present talk about everything that I am capable of, especially not in the presence of the Council. You and the rest of the _Normandy_ team have already seen far too much. I need your word that you will remain silent on this matter until I deem it safe to speak openly."

"Ambassador," breathed Liara, sounding scandalised. "Are you honestly trying to threaten me?"

"There's a damn good reason that Kiryuu Knight doesn't shout about what he's capable of, Liara," Shepard said firmly. "I don't know if you've noticed, but a lot of people out there don't trust AIs. Mr. Knight is lucky enough to have lasted as an ambassador for this long; how do you think everyone in Citadel space would react if they learned the full extent of what he can do?" She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. "He led our people to victory against an enemy that could have destroyed us a hundred times over with a mere thought; endangering his position on the Citadel would be a really bad way to repay him."

Kiryuu nodded at the Commander appreciatively. However Liara looked utterly defeated. She looked pleadingly over at Alan, but the mutant shook his head.

"Sorry, Doc," he said. "I'm with Shepard on this one. You already know more than you should; it's just too bloody dangerous to talk about right now."

"Shepard, I..." Liara stammered, now looking highly embarrassed. "I apologise... I didn't think... My scientific curiosity clouded my judgement... You must think of me as a complete fool..."

"I'm not the one you should be apologising to, Liara," said Shepard.

"Y-yes, Commander," said Liara, turning to Kiryuu. "I... I understand your concern. You have my word that I will keep quiet about your abilities. I will bury those thoughts so deep that not even the most powerful Matriarchs could find them." She shook slightly as she gave a low bow and turned back to Shepard. "I'll see you at the _Normandy_, Commander." Looking more embarrassed, she left the office and began to make her way back to the ship. Shepard didn't leave immediately; she shook her head, exasperated, and turned to look at Kiryuu.

"Thank you, Commander," said Kiryuu. "Your words meant a lot to me, especially about all that I did to keep Earth safe during the war. Your grasp of the larger picture also impresses me greatly. I hope the rest of the crew are going to keep quiet on this matter; it's just too dangerous to go spreading the word about Technomancy now, especially since we're not supposed to be using it ourselves. All of us, myself especially, are on thin enough ice as it is."

"I can tell you how they all reacted after finding out about your ability as a telepath, Mr. President," said Shepard. "Garrus and Wrex seem to have decided not to get too curious, but Liara's the one who's really been bugging me about your abilities. She was trying to question me, Ashley and Kaidan all night; Ashley very nearly punched her, she was getting that pissed off. She's no fan of aliens as it is."

"You can't keep an eye on Liara all the time though," said Alan. "You think she'll let anything slip?"

"I don't doubt her sincerity or intentions," said Shepard. "It's her common sense I'm worried about. I don't think she'd set out to screw us over on purpose; I don't think even Wrex would do that. I am worried about Tali though; she'll feel compelled to warn the Migrant Fleet of a possible new AI threat. It seems that learning you were a telepath brought all her old fears back."

"Kiryuu's not a threat to the Migrant Fleet though!" Alan argued.

"We know that," Shepard replied. "You know how the Quarians feel about AIs though. They probably distrust humanity enough as it is since we have an AI at the helm; I hate to think how they'd react when they learn he's a telepath too."

Alan shook his head and turned to look in the direction of the balcony. The sky simulation was now showing almost total daybreak.

"I'm starting to think Tulsa was right," he snarled. "It's all their damn fault the Geth feel compelled to attack organics anyway. Damn hypocrites."

"I don't take kindly to slander of my crew, Captain," said Shepard in an icy tone.

"Tali's _a_ Quarian," Alan retorted. "I'm not blaming her for what her ancestors did. I don't have a problem with her personally; hell, we would never have got this far without her. I don't agree with her people's views of AIs though, and I never will."

"Neither do I," said Kiryuu. "No sense in burning bridges though. I will prove my worth and sincerity to the citizens of this galaxy, even to the Migrant Fleet. I won't be able to do that by treating any other race with suspicion and hostility, and I hope you don't make that mistake, Commander. We will need all of the races to pull together if we are to stand any chance of stopping Saren and the Geth."

Shepard nodded, and then looked down at her Omni-Tool for a moment.

"Is there any last-minute intel you can give me about Noveria, Mr. President?" she said.

"I have spoken to a contact there, who is working in Internal Affairs," said Kiryuu. "It seems Matriarch Benezia arrived there yesterday and headed to one of the secure Binary Helix facilities with a large shipment. It's not known what the shipment was, and contact with the facility has been cut off. No-one knows what is really going on up there, so find out whatever you can. Remember that you can take any measure that you deem necessary, but if I were you then I would exercise caution on my part. Being a Spectre does not make you invincible, after all."

"I may have to step on a few toes, Mr. President," said Shepard. "I'll be as subtle as I can be, but if anybody tries to tie me down in red tape I'll have to kick down some doors."

"Ambassador Udina would not like that," Kiryuu chuckled.

"Wish I was there with you," muttered Alan. "I don't feel right not looking for this Saren character myself."

"Let me worry about that," said Shepard reasonably. "I'd feel better going there knowing others were keeping things straight closer to home." She began to move back towards the door leading back inside. "I'll keep you informed of our progress. Good luck out there, Captain. Mr. President."

"You too, Commander," said Alan.

"Best of luck to you, Commander," said Kiryuu, "and be careful."

Shepard gave a quick salute, and left the office. Alan, however, stayed behind. He frowned at Kiryuu with his arms folded.

"'Monstrous plant'?" he snarled. "I thought you told me she was dead!"

_Surprised to hear from a ghost, brother?_ a sultry voice suddenly said from within Alan's own head. He gasped for a moment, hardly daring to believe that he had just heard this cold female voice that he had hoped never to hear again. He saw Kiryuu grimace, as if he was fighting some internal struggle. Just as quickly as it came, however, the moment had passed. Kiryuu sighed as he looked up at Alan.

"I suppose Erika – Biollante, as you remember her - has you to thank for this in a way," said Kiryuu. "When I scattered fragments of myself across the network back in the early 21st century, I unintentionally made copies of her own thought patterns too. When you used those fragments to restore my memory and personality five years ago, she was also restored. She has sworn to me that she will not willingly intrude on another's mind, though as you have seen any half-accomplished psychic can detect her presence. As you may have surmised she does not think much of Dr. T'Soni, or of any aliens, for that matter."

"Just keep her out of my head," snarled Alan. "The last thing I want is her trying to come onto me. The last time she did I nearly got stuck in Godzilla's mind." He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "Talking of which, do you get to see him these days?"

"I get back to Earth whenever I can," said Kiryuu. "He is doing well, and I have explained the situation as best I can to him. He knows enough to stay away from any civilised areas, though he still gets restless whenever I am away from Earth for an extended period. The trouble is that I am nearly always on the Citadel these days; there is just too much to be done here, especially with the current crisis of Saren and the Geth." He leaned back slightly in his chair. "Remember that the reason I froze him was because I feared that he would be adversely affected by Mana, possibly mutating uncontrollably. If that had happened I would not have been able to save him."

"I know what you mean..." Alan muttered. He remembered that he himself had been frozen in cryogenic suspension for those very reasons, and as a result he had not witnessed nearly 500 years pass. "So what's been done about that now that he's out?"

"So far he's stable," said Kiryuu. "Still, I have ways of keeping an eye on him. Rest assured that nothing has changed in my desire to keep him safe from anything that could harm him."

Alan nodded, and then walked towards the door.

"I suppose I'd better get going too," he said. "I'll let you know what's happening on Chasca as soon as I can."

"Of course, Alan," said Kiryuu. "Take care."

Alan made his own way back to the _Serenity_. So many things were happening all at once, and he only hoped that the people involved in this mission were trustworthy. Of course he knew that he had enough worries on his plate with his new crew-member; he had no time to be worrying about the _Normandy_'s own clash of personalities.

0

A little over two hours later, the _Serenity_ was speeding away from the Maroon Sea Mass Relay on its way to Chasca. The crew had been mostly silent during the trip; it was as if Dorva's presence had put some kind of un-nameable pall on the ship, as if none of them dared to speak too openly around him. Dorva, for his part, didn't try to start a conversation with anyone, and was quick to make himself scarce whenever one of the other crew members entered the room. José noticed this and started to use it to his advantage, stalking Dorva and constantly looking at him with a very dirty look, making sure that Dorva could not settle in one place for long. Alan, for his part, had given Dorva one of the passenger cabins as he didn't feel right giving him Alistair's cabin, but even there the Sangheili had not found respite from José.

Eventually, as the ship sped through slip-space towards Chasca, Dorva decided to move up to the bridge, against his better judgement. The bridge was just as silent as everywhere else, with only the constant hum of the engines to be heard. Alan didn't notice Dorva at first, but eventually turned to face him.

"Permission to be present on the bridge, Shipmaster?" Dorva said in a quiet tone.

"Permission granted," Alan replied, though his frosty tone made it clear that he was not very welcome. He quickly turned back to the co-pilot's console as Dorva walked over to the small flight of steps leading down to the turret controls and leaned on the railing, peering out at the glowing slip-space domain speeding by outside. For a moment there was nothing but silence, and Alan hoped that it would remain that way; he didn't know how he was supposed to act if Dorva started talking to him. Awkwardly enough for him, it was not long before Dorva started doing exactly that.

"Shipmaster," he said, "I just wanted to thank you for giving me a chance to atone for my crimes. I know that I do not deserve it, but I promise you that I will not waste this chance that I have been given."

At that moment, Alan stood up sharply from the co-pilot's console and moved closer to Dorva. He didn't presently care what the Sangheili's intentions were; he felt that he had to speak plainly.

"Let's just get this out of the way, Dorva," he said firmly. "I don't like you, and I doubt I ever will. I don't blame José for being angry about this arrangement, and if I had my way I wouldn't have you on here at all. What you did all those years ago was stupid and weak-willed, and I wouldn't be surprised if you're never truly forgiven for it." He ran one of his claws through his hair and took a deep breath. "Now I am willing to work with you; I don't know what Kiryuu's thinking, but he obviously felt you have a use. However, I expect you to pull your weight. I'm not wasting my time on you if all you're going to do is stand around feeling sorry for yourself and giving me a bunch of mopey crap. I also can't guarantee your safety when Telek finds out about this, as I'm sure he will. Just so you know where you stand."

Before Dorva could reply, he spun around and sat straight back down at the co-pilot's console. He buried himself in the star-chart on one of the screens. Chasca was now about fifteen minutes away. Dorva just sighed and turned to look back outside at the slip-space portal.

"You sounded so much like Telek," Dorva said, in a quiet voice. Alan just shook his head; he had no idea how to respond to such a statement.

The rest of the journey continued in silence, until finally the _Serenity_ was touching down on the planet Chasca. The planet itself was very Earth-like, though much of it was either too hot or too cold to make colonisation viable. One side of the planet always faced the sun. The colony was located in a mountainous region along the planet's terminator, so the colony was coated in perpetual twilight.

The planet's atmosphere was breathable, so soon Alan, José and Dorva were all stepping down the ramp onto the ground. They were not sure what to expect, but to be on the safe side they had all prepared themselves for a fight by wearing their combat armour. They had tried to contact the colony, but the only response was dead air; Alan felt it best to prepare for the worst.

The colony was small, consisting only of a small number of rectangular civilian buildings. Chasca was only recently seen as a viable planet to place a few colonies along the terminator, so few people resided there. The largest building was a dedicated research outpost for the colony's science team. The area was warm but not unbearable, but the air was very still. There was no sign of life anywhere; nothing but a gaunt quiet.

"What, no welcome committee?" José asked in a snarky manner, before turning to Dorva. "They must have seen you coming."

"Cut it out," Alan said sharply, quickly nipping this latest argument in the bud. He knew José wasn't happy about them bringing Dorva along on this mission, but neither Call nor Bishop would be much help; they were better thinkers than fighters. He motioned for them to follow him towards one of the colony buildings. There were no signs of a fire-fight in the area, and as Alan approached the door to the building it slowly slid open. Apparently the power to the site was still on.

The interior of the building was as still as it was outside. These colony huts consisted of largely a single room, with a living area, kitchen and bunk-beds, and were generally sparsely-furnished. No-one was about, and there were no obvious signs of disturbance. On looking at the beds, they saw that they had been slept in, as the sheets were unmade.

"It's like everyone just left in the middle of the night," said Dorva. "Or whatever passes for night on this planet."

"They're probably all sleepwalking around the mountains somewhere," José said, shrugging.

A search of the rest of the residential buildings gave no results. There were no places that the colonists could feasibly hide, and any kind of storage that was checked proved to be devoid of life. As the group finished their search of the buildings, Alan had to admit that he was now feeling very nervous. There seemed to be no clear explanation for what had happened to the colonists; it was as if they had vanished into thin air. It was with a great deal of apprehension that he led the way to the main research building. This structure was taller than the others and consisted of two floors, though it still bore a resemblance to a very large grey caravan or trailer. Pausing to steady his nerves, Alan opened the door and led the others inside.

The door slid shut behind them as they entered. The lights inside the room were dim and it was hard for Dorva and José to see. Alan, however, could see perfectly in low-light environments. The foyer was empty, save for a few cabinets containing various types of survey equipment. Crossing the foyer and entering the main storage area the group came across a horrifying sight.

In the large warehouse were dozens of tall, sharp-looking spikes, each at least twenty feet in height. These were spread around the area, each mounted on a tripod base. Some of the spikes were missing from their bases while, most disconcertingly of all, Alan saw bodies skewered on some of them, the spikes drilled right through their torsos. It was difficult to get a good look at them from such a height, but from what he could see they had the appearance of being dead for several days. This immediately puzzled Alan; if they only lost contact with the colony yesterday, how could the victims be like this? On his left José doubled over and gagged, as if he was about to be violently sick. Dorva just stared at the bodies with wide eyes.

"Dear God..." Alan muttered. He stepped closer to try and get a better look. He wanted to know if there was a way to get these poor souls down, reasoning that the least they could do was bury the bodies decently.

Suddenly there was a loud scraping noise, as if of metal on metal, and one of the spikes lowered quickly to the ground, carrying its unfortunate victim down with it. Alan was about to move over and lift the body off of the base, but then a crackling noise could be heard, and sparks flashed across the lifeless body for a moment. All of a sudden the body lifted itself off the tripod, as if it was alive! It landed on its feet and slowly shuffled, turning to face Alan. When the group saw what had happened to the victim of that dreadful spike, they nearly shouted out loud.

The skin had become grey and looked much more brittle and shrivelled, as if all of the moisture had been boiled right out of it. Parts of the skin were missing entirely, exposing a network of intricate metal pipes which now served as muscles. Some of them ran on the outside of the body, such as an exposed ribcage. This strange musculature glowed with a vivid blue light, as did the dead eyes. The face was permanently frozen in a blank, dead look, the mouth hanging open. Suddenly a high-pitched wail emerged from what remained of the creature's throat, and it began to shuffle towards them, suddenly breaking into a run as it charged at Alan. Around it the rest of the spikes suddenly began to lower, bringing more of the rotting creatures down with them.

The horrifying sights drove Alan to the brink of total panic. He only remembered his Technomantic whip when the 'zombie' (for lack of a better term to Alan's mind) was mere feet away from him. He quickly grabbed the handle and let the line fall free. He lashed out, the whip's crackling blue energy soaring through the air in front of him. The creature was disintegrated as the line struck its midsection. A sickly green liquid spilled everywhere from the carcass, which Alan assumed was what had replaced its blood. The top half of the body fell to the ground, limp and lifeless.

However, over forty more bodies had been brought down by the retracting spikes, and there were more sounds of shuffling and wailing all around them, as if more of the zombies were scattered in other parts of the building. Alan was sure, however, that they were all on their way to here, where the meat was. The creatures charged at the trio, their horrible dead cries filling the air.

Without hesitation, the group opened fire on the advancing horde, bullets and plasma fire ripping through the rotten carcasses. In spite of their weaponry, however, there were simply too many of the creatures all charging at once to take down with their weaponry before they caught up to them, so a number of times the group were forced to go into melee. Alan lashed out with the whip and darted here and there among the group, moving with a level of co-ordination that was almost unnatural. Telek's brutal training regimes were once again showing their worth.

The others fought as hard as they could, smashing the brittle skulls of the creatures with the handles of their weapons. Dorva in-particular was fighting as if he was possessed. In one motion he had holstered his plasma rifles and was now swinging his fists at the charging creatures with bone-crushing force. He released a loud battle cry, his mandibles spread wide-open as his blows brought down any zombies unfortunate enough to get too close. It was as if some unspeakable blood frenzy was coursing through his veins.

The next few moments would remain a blur in Alan's memory, for after several minutes of tense fighting, at the point where everyone's muscles were screaming in protest, the last of the monsters fell. All three stood tense, panting, straining their ears to hear any sign of more of the zombies. When he was satisfied that they would not be attacked again, Alan turned to look at Dorva. The Sangheili was stiff and tense, panting heavily, his eyes closed and his mandibles quivering. His black armour was covered in the blood of the creatures, as were his fists. He had ploughed his way through a great many of them. Alan had to admit that he was feeling slightly unnerved at the sight of the blood-soaked Sangheili, though his nerves were hidden behind the amber screens on his helmet. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, until Dorva raised his head to look over at Alan.

"Would you consider this to be 'pulling my weight', Shipmaster?" he panted.

"Let's just go," Alan replied, after taking a few moments to regain his composure. "We've got to find out just what the hell happened here. There must be something in the security logs."

The trio made their way through the building, looking for the main security office. José was careful to keep his distance from Dorva; he had the horrible feeling that the Sangheili had been planning to vent his frustrations on him before the encounter with the zombies. Not a word was spoken until the office was found. Alan approached one of the terminals and connected to it with his Omni-Tool. After a few moments he turned to the others.

"I've accessed the security and research logs for the past few days," he said to them. "I've uploaded them to the _Serenity_ now. Some of the files are encrypted, but hopefully Bishop and Kiryuu can sort that out. I've sent a few photos of those spikes as well." He looked all around him, especially taking note of the blood on everyone's armour; Dorva was still practically swimming in it. "Whatever happened here, there's nothing we can do for those people now."

"Let's get the hell out of here, boss," said José. "I feel like I need a shower in addition to decontamination."

"That goes double for me," said Dorva in a dry voice.

0

After the _Serenity_ had departed from the dead colony, Alan found himself conversing with Kiryuu on his private channel.

"_Alan..."_ Kiryuu was saying in a quiet voice. _"I can't imagine what it must have been like, to see such things..."_

"Just tell me what happened down there, Kiryuu," said Alan, in a tone of barely-restrained anger. "I want to know what happened, and who the bastards responsible were." He heard Kiryuu sigh on the other end, though it was hard to tell if it was out of pity or not.

"_Those spikes that you saw down in the colony were what we have called 'Hydra's Teeth',"_ said Kiryuu. _"In the story of Jason and the Argonauts, said teeth were used to raise an army of skeletons. It seemed an apt metaphor for those terrible devices. Commander Shepard's team saw more of them on Eden Prime, as well as the effects."_ Kiryuu paused for a moment looking awkward, as if what he was about to say next was too horrible for even him to comprehend. _"The Geth were using them on any captured colonists. We don't know exactly how they work, but we know that, when a victim is impaled on those spikes, their organs, skin and water content are converted into cybernetic materials. Their blood becomes that green fluid, and they become capable of emitting an electrical charge. When the transformation is complete, the victim has become a Husk; a mindless zombie-like creature."_

"Jesus..." Alan groaned. "All those colonists... Every single one of them must have been on those things..."

"_I'm afraid I miscalculated, Alan,"_ said Kiryuu in a low tone. _"It wasn't samples from the Thorian that were taken from Feros; it was those accursed machines. ExoGeni must have succeeded in securing them from the Geth somehow and smuggled them off-world to be given to Cerberus. According to the security logs you recovered the Hydra's Teeth were delivered to the colony for study there; it seems one of the scientists there was also a Cerberus agent. Most of the data from the files you recovered is corrupted, but from what I could decipher from the scientist's notes Cerberus wanted to perform experiments in creating their own husks. There was also a system-wide shutdown of the security systems last night, which would have prevented any alarms from being raised."_

"The Geth must have gone there to reclaim their property," Alan groaned. "I'll bet you anything that they tracked those teeth or whatever you called them straight to that colony. They're perfect infiltrators; they must have hacked the systems, shut them down and snatched everyone while they slept, and no-one would have been able to do anything about it. Why do that to those people though? Why go to so much trouble?"

"_I cannot say for certain,"_ said Kiryuu. _"I don't know what the Geth would hope to gain from having cannon-fodder of such limited use. Our best guess is that they function as a form of psychological warfare, warding organics away from meddling in their affairs."_ His cat-like eyes narrowed. _"Whatever reason the Geth would have for doing it, Cerberus was responsible for this massacre; they have a lot to answer for."_

"Any idea where this Cerberus lot can be found?" asked Alan.

"_I tried,"_ said Kiryuu, _"Unfortunately that knowledge is beyond even my capability. We created Cerberus, so they would know what to expect if we try to look into their affairs. This group are incredibly well-organised, efficient and capable; they have covered their tracks far too well. They have fallen off the grid. Our only chance is if they somehow slip up, but if these people are as Lord Hood said they are, then we have very little chance of finding them."_

"Talking of Lord Hood," said Alan, "any word from him about his enquiries?"

"_None whatsoever,"_ replied Kiryuu. _"I have wanted him to explain himself, but he has gone silent. He's not answering any of my calls. As if I didn't have enough to worry about, now I'm afraid he's done something drastic in his enquiries."_

"He wouldn't be that daft, I'm sure," said Alan, in what he hoped was a reassuring voice.

"_I hope you're right,"_sighed Kiryuu. _"I'll pass on a report to him, just in case he happens to read it."_ He ran a claw through his dreadlocks, lines of worry etched along his forehead. _"There is something else you need to know. I have just received a report from the High Council on Sanghelios. Telek and the Fleet Shadow of Fury have gone rogue again. As soon as Telek was given command of the Silent Wrath while his own ship is being repaired, they left for parts unknown. It's likely he may be hunting Saren as well. He may try to contact you, but right now I would rather not involve his entire fleet in this matter. I am sure Saren will expect retaliation from him after what happened at Eden Prime; if he becomes alerted to Telek's pursuit we may truly lose him. Telek may even put his fleet in greater jeopardy. Shepard is still our best chance of success. I will do everything in my power to dissuade Telek from this rash action, but you of all people should know how he gets when he has revenge on the brain."_

"What do you want me to say to him, Kiryuu?" asked Alan in a defeated tone. "If I start making excuses he's going to want to know what's up. If he finds out Dorva's here then I'm going to get atomised for sure."

"_Make sure he doesn't find you then,"_ said Kiryuu firmly. _"I need Shadowrunners for this operation, not fleets. Right now, I want you to be prepared to provide backup for Shepard if necessary. I have just received a report from my contact in Internal Affairs that she departed for the Binary Helix facility on Peak 15, but there has been no word from her since then. She has caused quite a stir on Noveria, including getting Port Hanshan's administrator, Anoleis, arrested for embezzling money from the various partner corporations, including Saeder-Krupp. He broke the number-one law of Noveria to not 'rock the boat', so to speak, but Lofwyr especially is not taking kindly to that."_ He gave a low chuckle, but it sounded half-hearted; the stress that these events were causing him was obvious. _"I will keep you updated of Shepard's progress, and if I find out anything about Cerberus I will pass it on. You'll have to excuse me now, Alan; I'm scheduled to attend a trade meeting with the Volus and the Elcor diplomats. Good luck."_

With that, he signed off. Alan reclined in his chair at the co-pilot's console, holding his claws over his face. He hated it when things got more and more complicated. He tried not to picture the look on Telek's face when he found out that the Sangheili he had wanted dead for so long was now part of Alan's crew.


	7. Bug Hunt

**Bug Hunt**

Telek 'Heros had not had a restful night's sleep for several days. For some time now he had been tossing and turning, waking up startled in the middle of the night and pacing the halls of his ship, trying in vain to make himself feel tired enough to try again. He looked especially haggard now, after the _Shadow of Darkness_ was attacked. Some put it down to the stress from both the war and the attack on Eden Prime, and Telek really wished that he could believe that it was just that. Wartime stress was one thing he knew how to deal with. He couldn't say the same about vivid nightmares.

Every so often for the past five years he had seen the same monster in his dreams. He had had very unpleasant encounters with the colossal, golden-scaled, three-headed dragon known to most as King Ghidorah; such encounters had left his mind permanently scarred. He did his best not to show it, but he had never forgotten that monster, and a constant nagging thought in the back of his mind knew that he was still out there somewhere, biding his time. Not knowing what it was that he was up to was what really frustrated him; he put that down to being one of the sources of his recurring nightmares.

The nightmares had occurred again for the past five days, but this time there was a new twist. He saw the hydra demon before him in the darkness, but his appearance had changed. Instead of his gleaming golden scales he was covered in a dark substance lined with purple-blue lights. The skin had a metallic appearance but didn't act like metal at all, flexing smoothly as organic skin would. It reminded Telek in some ways of bio-syntech. One of the strangest things was that the creature could now change his shape, as it sometimes did so into a massive ship that looked like a black cuttlefish. Regardless of which form it took, the nightmares were the same; he could not escape the demon, and found himself caught in strange techno-organic tentacles. No matter how he tried he could not free himself, and they wound tighter around him, suffocating him as a low, mocking voice filled his head.

Once again he found himself jerking awake, gasping, his face caked with sweat. He had been clutching at his pillow during the night and ended up throwing it across his cabin. It hit the wall with a soft thud and fell to the floor. He clutched his forehead and groaned, trying to prevent the nightmare from resurfacing. With a start, he realised that he was actually trembling. Only that monster was capable of putting such fear into him.

Knowing that would be pointless to try and get back to sleep, he decided to get himself dressed and grab a coffee from the dispenser. Feeling rather stiff, he decided to walk up to the bridge. He often wandered the corridors trying to get used to the _Silent Wrath_. While he was grateful that the Shipmaster had loaned him the ship, he knew deep down that it just did not feel the same as the _Shadow of Darkness_, which was still being repaired.

He encountered no-one else as he made his way through the long corridors to the bridge. It was a long trip, as the ship was nearly 90,000ft long, but he preferred to walk the trip to try and rid himself of his stiffness. He was glad his walk to the bridge was a quiet one; he was in no mood to be answering stupid questions about how he was supposed to be relieved and resting for another few hours yet.

He eventually reached the cavernous bridge, which was a bustling hive of activity. He approached the main command platform, where he found the human Tom Jimenez sat in the main command chair.

"Comfortable?" he asked wryly.

Tom had not heard the Supreme Commander come up to the bridge, and so he nearly jumped for a proverbial mile at the sound of Telek's voice. He quickly composed himself and turned to salute Telek.

"Sorry, Skipper," said Tom quickly. "I thought I was supposed to be relieving you for the next three hours!"

"At ease, Tom," drawled Telek lazily, sitting himself down on the command chair. He couldn't help but feel guilty over Tom's current position; while the human was content to act as second-in-command to Telek until he got his own ship again, just looking at him reminded Telek of how he had lost so many good people, including Mitsu and Davis. Maybe not so much Wago, but he still would never have expected him to sacrifice himself to save others in the fleet.

"It was the nightmares again, wasn't it?" Tom suddenly asked, sounding as if he already knew the answer. Telek groaned and turned to face him.

"Been chatting with Ghost-face, have ya?" he asked sarcastically. 'Ghost-face' was one of several derogatory nicknames he gave to Dunkelzahn, the ghostly dragon who resided in a heart-shaped crystal that, at present, was stored behind a small panel on his command chair. Telek didn't know why he kept Dunkelzahn around, since he often irritated the Sangheili to the point of wanting to throw the crystal out of the nearest airlock.

"He's getting worried about you, Skipper," said Tom. "He knows you haven't slept well for the past few days. You should know as well as anyone by now that when Dunkelzahn of all people gets worried, you'd better sit up and take notice."

"He yells 'Danger!' when someone gives him a dirty look," replied Telek irritably. "Enough about that now. Has there been any luck?"

"Nothing," replied Tom. "This Saren character's a ghost. I still say we should be back in the Orion Arm, in case he tries anything there."

"Saren smashed up my fleet and a lot of good people died because of him," Telek snapped savagely, glaring at Tom. "Ya really think I'm gonna sit idle and wait for the bastard to come to us? I wanna slam my energy sword straight into his smug face!" He calmed down slightly, as if realising that he had gone too far. "You, Cujo and Tulsa didn't have to come, you know. You didn't have to risk getting yerselves branded as outlaws all over again."

"Are you crazy, Skipper?" replied Tom. "We've all worked together for a long time now. Do you really think we'd leave you in the lurch by this point?"

Telek sighed, reclining in his chair, a slight smirk stretching across his mandibles.

"I appreciate it, Tom," he said. "I think you're all frickin' insane, but I appreciate it. It ain't the same without Mitsu, Davis and, to a lesser extent, Wago, though. I jus' hope we don't end up insultin' 'em by getting ourselves blown up too."

"That won't happen," said Tom confidently. "We know better now. That thing's not gonna get the drop on us again, is it? You've got us this far; we're gonna go all the way."

"Ah, don't get all therapist on me, Tom," chuckled Telek. "It doesn't suit you." He pressed a few buttons on the command chair and opened channels to the _Divine Journey_ and _Righteous Fury_. "Cujo, Tulsa." He felt another pang of guilt as he said those two names out loud; the fleet seemed much smaller now.

"_Ready, Excellency,"_ came Tulsa's prompt reply.

"_I read you, Telek,"_ said Cujo. _"Nothing new to report. There's no sign of that ship or any of the Geth out here. I say we move on."_

"Right," said Telek. "I say we head for the Sentry Omega cluster next. That's pretty damn close to the Terminus Systems; I doubt the Council will have bothered to look that far yet, if they're even looking at all."

"_What about that Shepard character?"_ asked Cujo. _"We all read Kiryuu's report; she's a Spectre, isn't she?"_

"They think that's enough?" snorted Telek. "I don't care how good this Shepard woman is; she's still lookin' for a Spectre, and she's up against an army full of Geth. The more eyes that are out there looking for Saren, the better."

"_Hold it,"_ said Cujo suddenly. _"I've just pinged Alan on the long-range scanners. Looks like he's heading in the direction of the Styx Theta cluster."_

"I'll get him on the radio," said Telek. "If he wants to join this little bug hunt, he's more than welcome."

Telek hailed the _Serenity_, but no-one on the ship answered at first. Furrowing his brow, Telek tried again. It wasn't like anyone in his fleet to hesitate to answer a call. He tried again, and eventually Alan's rather haggard-looking face appeared on his screen.

"_What is it, Telek?"_ Alan asked.

"We got Kiryuu's report, kid," said Telek quickly, getting straight to business. "We're out here looking for Saren, just like you and that Shepard character, and you're welcome to rejoin the fleet."

"_I can't, Telek,"_ said Alan firmly. _"We just intercepted a distress signal coming from an UNSC listening post on Nepmos. We're heading there now to see what's happened."_

"Alright," Telek nodded. "Then we're coming with you. Whatever's wrong there will be solved a lot faster then."

"_That's not necessary, Telek,"_ Alan replied, looking rather agitated.

"It damn well will be if it's Saren causing the trouble," Telek retorted. "With that psycho on the loose in his god-damned cuttle-ship it's too damn dangerous for anyone to fly alone. _Serenity_ can't cloak herself, and I'd hate for ya to run into Saren and get blown up. We'll be yer armed escort."

It took Alan a moment to answer, and he looked rather awkward when he did so. Telek was specially trained in how to detect concealment just by looking at someone, and right now every muscle on Alan's face was screaming that he had something to hide, something which he really did not want Telek to know.

"_Alright, Telek,"_ the mutant said. _"We'll rendezvous in the Erebus system and go from there. We can't waste any time getting to Nepmos though."_

"Gotcha, son," said Telek. "We'll see you there." As Alan's face disappeared from his view-screen, Telek's mandibles twisted into a smirk. "I can read you like an open book, boy. What're you hiding?"

"He's not the only one hiding things," said Tom in an uncharacteristically disapproving tone. "You didn't tell him about your dreams."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," shrugged Telek. "Besides, he needs to focus on the job at hand, not worryin' about nightmares. Tell Dunkelzahn to do the same and make himself useful by finding and tracking Saren." He turned to his helmsmen. "Rolu, set a course for Nepmos."

"Done and done, Excellency," came Rolu's prompt reply. "I'm already picking up the distress signal that Alan mentioned. It's definitely UNSC origin. It's not very clear though; their signal's weak, but I'm sure I heard giant bugs being mentioned."

"What was that you were saying about 'bug hunts', Skipper?" asked Tom wryly.

"Ah, shaddap," was the only reply Telek could think of, as he waved his arm dismissively and turned back to Rolu. "Get us there, Tweedle Dum, and don't spare the horsepower."

"Aye-aye, Excellency," replied Rolu, as he activated the slip-space portal. After a short time in slip-space and two mass relay jumps, the small fleet had reached the Erebus system. Telek had hardly felt the need to use mass relays before, as he preferred to put his ships through their paces, but using them now made him feel very uneasy. He could not explain this feeling, but he felt as if the relays always threatened to swallow him up. He tried to push these thoughts out of his head as the fleet approached the planet of Nepmos. The _Serenity_ was soon located on the ship's scanners, already in orbit over the rocky planet. Telek opened up channels to the rest of the Shipmasters.

"So how do you wanna do this?" asked Telek, addressing Alan.

"_I'll take a team down to have a look first,"_ said Alan quickly. _"We'll signal if we need backup. Judging from that distress call, it sounds like a warzone down there."_

_"I can have Aeko's team down there in minutes if you need the support,"_ Cujo chimed in.

"_Cheers, Cujo,"_ replied Alan. _"With any luck we can be in and out before whatever's down there knows what's hit them."_ With that, Alan signed off, but Telek kept his channel to the _Divine Journey_ open.

"Send Aeko down after them, Cujo," said Telek firmly. "Tell his team to keep cloaked and watch Alan carefully."

"_What the hell, Telek?"_ said Cujo, looking thoroughly puzzled. _"Why are you asking us to spy on each other now?"_

"There's something he's not telling us, Cujo," Telek replied. "It's written all over his scaly face. I wanna know what he's hiding, and if it means trouble for the fleet."

"_Damn it, Telek..."_ groaned Cujo, holding a hand up to his forehead. _"You've never really trusted him, have you?"_

"Getting shot and knocked off a building can do that to a guy," retorted Telek. "Just get Aeko and his squad down there." Without waiting for Cujo to reply, he cut him off. As Telek sat there rubbing his temples, Tom shook his head.

"If this is what being in charge does to people," he muttered, "I'm glad it never happened to me."

"Pray that it never does, Tom," sighed Telek.

0

Nepmos was a desolate, inhospitable world with a poisonous atmosphere and a very thin crust. The planet was frequently rocked by earthquakes and subsurface magma flows made travel very dangerous. Though it was apparently rich in resources, the hazardous conditions deterred investment by the mining conglomerates. In spite of this, it was a convenient location for the UNSC's listening posts, set up to observe any possible intrusion by any from the Terminus Systems. In-particular, they kept a sharp eye for any Batarian raiders, who had taken to capturing humans and using them as slaves. It was rumoured that they had a base stationed somewhere in the cluster, along with pirate gangs.

The sky was filled with volcanic ash as the _Serenity_ swooped over the blasted surface of the planet. The blazing red sun barely peeked through the dark clouds. The crew had tried to radio the listening post to alert any survivors of their arrival, but no-one was answering. Alan feared the worst as he, Dorva and José gathered in the cargo bay, preparing themselves for a fight.

"Shit..." Alan muttered. "Please don't let us be too late for the second time today..."

"You oughta stop doin' that, boss," José chimed in. "Whenever you wish for something, the exact opposite happens."

"Don't think I haven't noticed," Alan retorted.

The ship soon flew over a mountain range, reaching what looked like a volcanic plain that stretched for roughly a square mile. Passing by what looked like an entrance to an old mine shaft, Bishop eventually saw the small, badly-fortified listening post. The fighting was still continuing, as a small group of soldiers huddled at a large but crude barricade, shooting at what looked like large brown insects which were crawling up from holes in the ground large enough for a man to fall down. They came at the base in relentless waves, and while most were cut down by a hail of gunfire it was clear that the soldiers would not last much longer.

The _Serenity_'s engines sent dust everywhere as it carefully landed behind the barricade. Alan and his companions dashed out the minute the ship landed, shutting the heavy airlock door behind them in case these creatures got past the barricade and swarmed the ship. They ran to help the soldiers and opened fire on the strange, almost roach-like aliens that charged straight at the barricade. There didn't seem to be any real tactics to the assault; they seemed to be trying to overwhelm the soldiers with sheer numbers. Alan was sure that they would have succeeded had his ship not intercepted the distress signal. The gunfire cut down wave after wave of the bugs, together with support provided from the _Serenity_'s front gun turret by Bishop; a Sangheili modification as the Firefly class was usually unarmed. As tenacious as the creatures were, they fell easily under the combined gunfire. Though every muscle in their bodies ached, the defending forces managed to hold out against the waves of creatures for fifteen whole minutes, before finally no more of the creatures surfaced. When the dust settled, Alan was approached by a female marine.

"Holy hell," she said. Her face was covered by a respirator, but Alan could tell that she sounded as exhausted as he felt. "Talk about a near-run thing! You alright?"

"Never mind me," replied Alan. "Are you alright?"

"Still on my feet," replied the soldier. "We've been fighting for almost 26 hours straight. I'm 1st Lieutenant Durand, sir," she continued, saluting. "3rd Brigade, 14th Infantry regiment, and I am damn glad to see you."

"We got your call," said Alan. "We heard you needed some backup."

"Actually, we need to get the hell out of here," said Durand, looking over at the _Serenity_. "I guess your ship couldn't carry us all though."

"What happened?" Alan asked.

"We were stationed here a few months back," said Durand. "We get supplies every couple of weeks. We didn't see anything local that was more dangerous than lichen. That changed yesterday, when these damn animals started coming out of the ground. We've no idea where they came from." She looked around at the scarce few marines left; Alan estimated that there were no more than 15 left. "This is what's left out of 90 men. I'm the ranking officer."

"The Fleet Shadow of Fury is in orbit," said Alan. "We could bombard these things, whatever they are."

"Wouldn't do much good," said Durand, shaking her head. "They're moving around deep underground. They only time they come near the surface is when they're right on our position; you glass them and you'll take us out too."

"If many more of those things come up, we won't be standing for long," said José. "How the hell did things get this bad?" It was then that one of Durand's marines approached her.

"Ma'am," he said, "We're getting a reading from one of our ground-scan UAVs. There's a big hollow space about five hundred meters under the surface."

"That must be it," said Durand. "That must be where they're coming from. My people aren't in any condition for a clearing operation though!"

"We'll take care of it," said Alan. "What sort of opposition should we expect?"

"Hell if I know," replied Durand. "I hope we've bled them, but it's tight quarters and it's their territory. If you wanna take a throw at it we'll give you the co-ordinates, but it's your call."

"Let's move out, people," Alan barked to his comrades. "We can take the _Serenity_ there."

"Thanks," said Durand. "You saved our asses."

With a quick salute, Alan and the others headed back to the _Serenity_ with the necessary co-ordinates in hand. Alan was still curious as to how these creatures could have got to this planet in the first place; if what Durand said was true and they weren't native to the planet, then that left only one explanation.

"Bishop," he said, once he was back on the bridge and he had handed the co-ordinates over, "can you look into what supply vessels arrived on Nepmos in the last three days, and where they came from?"

"Of course, Captain," replied Bishop. "Sometimes I wish you could give me a more challenging task."

"Be careful what you wish for, mate," chuckled Alan. "I might just send you out there to fight the Geth."

They flew a short distance to the west of the listening post, the co-ordinates leading them to the mine entrance that they had passed earlier. There wasn't any space to land in front of the mine, so the ship just hovered there for a few moments while Alan, José and Dorva stepped off, weapons at the ready. As the ship retreated to find a safe place to land, the trio entered the poorly-lit tunnel leading straight down into the planet's interior.

It didn't take them long to find what it was that they were looking for, for as they entered a large underground chamber they found the same strange mounds that they had spotted outside the listening post. Alan didn't like the idea of having to crawl down those holes to find the bugs, and he hoped that they would not have to climb down much farther. He knew that Durand was right; they were fighting these things on their home turf, which was always a bad sign. Still, he reasoned that he had been in worse foxholes than this during the war.

Suddenly a cloud of dirt shot out of one of the holes close to the team, and one of the large brown insect creatures burst out of the hole. Up-close it resembled a giant shrimp-like creature, covered in a brown armoured carapace and mounted on four long spider-like legs and with two arms. It had two long tentacles stretching out of it which ended in sharp-looking pods. The mandibles on the front of the 'head' opened and let out an ear-piercing shriek. As it advanced on them, more of the insects burst out of the holes and joined in the rampage. Some of them spat acid at the group at a high velocity, as if it had been shot out of a gun. The group dived for cover and fired everything they had at the advancing horde, yet for each insect that was gunned down more arrived in their place. Their cries were deafening, and Alan was sure that they would be overrun. They fought as hard as they could, but there were several close calls; Alan had to lash out with the whip several times as the bugs managed to reach their melee range.

All of a sudden a hail of plasma fire suddenly shot out from behind them, cutting down several bugs. Alan spun around, and saw nothing but empty space behind them. Yet the plasma fire continued to stream out of nowhere, illuminating the cave with its white-blue glow. Alan was sure that someone was there in optic camouflage, but he forced himself to focus on the more pressing issue of the giant killers insects that were still coming at them in waves. Whoever these new people were, he would have to wait before he could reveal their identity.

As another wave of insects collapsed to the floor, a new breed suddenly jumped out of the holes. These ones were larger and had a purple-coloured carapace, lined with what looked like a luminescent blue material that shone eerily in the darkness of the cavern. They also had a multitude of eyes, which also glowed in that strange blue colour. As the group fired on them, one of them suddenly launched what looked like a blue ball of energy. It struck Dorva and knocked him off his feet, sending him flying into the back wall. With a start, Alan realised that they were using biotics, much like sentient creatures could. Of course there was no time to debate how these creatures could use biotics, and after another minute of tense fighting the last of the creatures finally dropped dead to the rocky floor.

With one problem down, Alan decided to focus on the next puzzle; who the cloaked figures were that had provided their unexpected backup. He could already hazard a guess as to who they were, and as he and José turned around to face them he was proven right. For right in front of their eyes several figures were now flickering into view as their optic camouflage was deactivated. They were Sangheili warriors, dressed in blue combat harnesses, with the exception of their squad leader who was wearing white. Some of them had their rifles trained on Alan and José, while another was pointing his carbine at Dorva, who now didn't dare to try and pick himself up.

"Is this Telek's idea of coming through in a pinch, Aeko?" Alan snapped at the white-armoured Sangheili, for if these Sangheili had been cloaked there was no telling how long they had been following the _Serenity_ crew and he wasn't happy about that. "That was probably just the first wave, for all we know!"

"Actually, it was the last," replied Aeko 'Ilsus, the Special Operations Commander from the _Transcending Vigilance_, now filling his role on the _Divine Journey_. "According to our data, those large Brood Warriors only show themselves when the hive is particularly threatened. If no more of those are coming, then it's safe to say that the Rachni infestation on this planet is no more."

"What are Rachni when they're at home?" asked Alan, his eyes narrowed. "More importantly, why the hell are you pointing your guns at me and my crew?"

"Consider it a precaution," replied Aeko in a frosty tone. "Did you honestly think you could hide the traitor from us for long?" He shot a disgusted look at Dorva before turning back to Alan. "Now, Shipmaster, if you would kindly return to your ship and rendezvous with the _Silent Wrath_ without any fuss; His Excellency wants to talk to you."


	8. You Think You Know Someone

**You Think You Know Someone...**

"That boy's gonna be deader than a Flood Combat Form after being blown to bits by a rocket launcher," snarled Telek. The _Serenity_ was now docking in the cavernous hangar of the _Silent Wrath_, and Telek was now marching furiously down the corridors to meet with the ship. He was in such a towering temper that was apparent in his dark expression and gestures, to the point where the other Sangheili crew members pinned themselves against the walls as he past, out of fear that he would lash out at them.

In the hangar were several Sangheili soldiers, all of whom had their rifles trained on the _Serenity_ crew, and on Dorva in-particular. Aeko and some of his warriors had ridden on the ship in case Dorva or the other crew-members tried anything. As he and the rest of the crew stood their with their arms raised, Alan found himself having a feeling of déjà-vu as Telek stormed towards him, an expression of unfathomable anger on his face. He stopped right in front of Alan, towering over the mutant. Firstly he peered at the faces of the crew, staring daggers at Dorva, who looked on the brink of a nervous collapse.

"Get that... thing... to the brig," he snarled, pointing at Dorva before rounding on José, Bishop and Call. "The rest of you are not to leave the hangar until I've had a few words with your captain. You," he suddenly barked at Alan, pointing at him, "don't say a word and come with me."

He marched all the way back to the bridge. He was taller than Alan and indeed most of the other Sangheili, and Alan found himself having to run to keep up. Both looked very irritated as Telek sat down in his command chair and rubbed his temple. Tom just stood back, shaking his head at Alan, something which served to irritate Alan further, as it made him certain that everyone on the ship was judging him. Telek removed his helmet and rubbed his head.

"Let me ask you something, Captain," he snarled. "What the hell is it that I've ever done to make you kick me in the teeth twice? I'd never done anything to you before we even met but you shot me off a building, and now you're working with a traitor that was supposed to be executed. What the hell did I do to you to deserve this dishonour? Despite all that you've done, I welcomed you into the fleet on good faith from Cujo. Now you've gone and spat in my eye in spite of that good faith."

"Oh, pack it in, you silly bastard!" Alan shouted, highly indignant. "You think I did this just to spite you? If Kiryuu hadn't poked his nose in-"

"Kiryuu!" Telek shouted back. "I should have known. You and your biomechanical grandpa have been a thorn in my side for the last time. I've done everything for him, served him, and even saved his worthless ass despite the fact that I would be court-marshalled and imprisoned, and this is the gratitude he gives me? I'm risking everything again so I can take down that asshole Saren all because even my own damned government has its head up its own ass so that we all can get a peace of mind, but no... Kiryuu has to go and pull this shit with me!"

"Well, take it up with him then!" Alan barked. "I'm not the bad guy here! You seriously think I'm happy bringing Dorva along, knowing how much of a pain in the arse he's been?" At this point Alan knew that he was digging himself into deep trouble for such an insolent tone, but he was so annoyed by Telek's attitude to this that he didn't care if he kept digging.

"You know what pisses me off more than having to drag Dorva into this?" he continued. "The fact that you still don't trust me. I made a mistake when we first met; I owned up to that a long time ago, and I thought we were square on that after five years. Now you're sending your own people to spy on me? Nice to know where I stand after five years!"

"Don't you get started with that holier-than-thou bullshit!" Telek spat. "I wouldn't have sent Aeko if I didn't think you were hiding something!" He stood up in his chair and leaned closer to Alan, the mutant standing firm. "You're damn lucky you're not in that cell with Dorva, and he'll be lucky if he's alive tomorrow!"

All of a sudden there was a beeping noise coming from Alan's commlink. This was the sound that indicated that someone wanted to contact him.

"Do you need to get that?" Telek asked, irritated.

"Well, you might as well listen in," Alan spat. "Since you have such little regard for my privacy." Telek rolled his eyes as Alan opened up the channel. It was Kiryuu.

"_Alan?"_ asked Kiryuu. _"What's happening? I tried to contact you through the Serenity, but communications were locked out..."_

"I think Telek can explain that," Alan replied darkly.

"_Telek?"_ asked Kiryuu, before he groaned. _"Oh no... Excuse me."_

With that, he signed off as quickly as he had appeared.

"Excellency," Rolu then called a few seconds later from the helm, "if you have a moment, I've just received a transmission from the Citadel. It's... it's Kiryuu Knight."

"Damn good timing," Telek grunted. "I can't wait to hear him try to weasel his way outta this. Put him on."

"Aye, sir," said Rolu. Telek and Alan turned as Kiryuu's face appeared on the holographic display. Upon seeing Telek his eyes narrowed.

"Alright, Kiryuu, what the hell kind of joke is this?" snarled Telek. "You and your grandkid have a really weird sense of humour."

"_I assume you are talking about my appointment of Dorva 'Elus to the crew of the Serenity,"_ replied Kiryuu coldly. _"I don't wish to hear your lip, Telek. It was my decision to make, not Alan's, and I will not tolerate threats been made against him when the fault is not his."_

"Like peas in a pod, you two, ain't ya?" Telek grunted, shooting nasty looks at both Alan and Kiryuu. "So what the hell is this all about? You honestly thought putting a known traitor on Alan's crew wouldn't piss me off? Did you think I wouldn't find out about it?"

"_I knew how you would react upon learning of Dorva's continued survival,"_ said Kiryuu. _"That was precisely why I said nothing, and encouraged Alan to do the same. You of all people should know by now that we would never do this sort of thing without a damn good reason. Dorva 'Elus wants to prove his worth. He is determined to atone for his mistakes, and I believe that he has punished himself enough for them over the last five years."_

"But what about Reach?" Telek barked. "That bastard-"

"_Never gave its position away to the Covenant,"_ Kiryuu interrupted. _"If you don't believe me, then ask Dunkelzahn. Both of us interrogated him very thoroughly. We know the truth of what Dorva has done... and what he has suffered. If you doubt my word then at least trust Dunkelzahn's. I trust that he is still on the ship with you?"_

"Yes," grunted Telek, "against my better judgement."

"_Then feel free to ask him about it,"_ said Kiryuu. _"This topic is not up for debate, Telek. Dorva 'Elus is now a member of Alan's crew, and I expect him to be treated as such. For now, I expect all hostilities to cease, at the very least."_

It took a few moments for anyone to respond, as Telek silently fumed. Alan was sure that he was now feeling very sore over being denied any opportunity to run his sword through Dorva. The incident with José's ODST unit had landed Telek in a lot of trouble with the UNSC which he did not deserve, and those were scars which had never healed. Finally, Telek threw his arms up in surrender, turning to Alan.

"Alright, fine!" he barked. "The scumbag can fly with you. Tell him that if he steps outta line I won't even bother with the brig. It's straight outta the airlock with him. He owes me twelve lives, and I plan to collect."

"_That will do to start with,"_ sighed Kiryuu. He had almost forgotten just how stubborn Telek could be, and it irritated him a lot. _"While I have your attention, Telek, there are urgent matters that I need to discuss with both you and Alan. I have Commander Shepard online with her report on the situation on Noveria. I thought you two ought to hear it as well."_

"Well, why not?" barked Telek, the sarcasm in his voice so thick you could caulk a shower with it. "Does she have any great jokes to play on ol' Telek 'Heros too?"

Kiryuu just rolled his eyes as he patched Shepard through to the _Silent Wrath_. Shepard's face soon appeared on Telek's display alongside Kiryuu's. She seemed calm and measured.

"_Admiral 'Heros,"_ she said courteously. _"I've heard a lot about you and the Fleet Shadow of Fury. It's an honour to meet you."_

"Just 'Telek' is fine, ma'am," replied Telek rather stiffly. Alan knew that Telek disliked the Citadel Council, and he had the feeling that Shepard's status as a Spectre didn't sit well with him.

"_Are you ready to give your report, Commander?"_ asked Kiryuu. _"I know that you will only end up repeating what you told the Council..."_

"_I'm fine, Mr. President,"_ said Shepard. _"I want to hear what Admiral 'Heros and Captain Tyler have to say about this, see if they've found something we missed."_

"_Very sensible,"_ nodded Kiryuu. _"I feel better knowing that there are more minds out there trying to piece together this whole affair. Very well then, Shepard, if you could report what happened on Peak 15?"_

"_Yes, sir,"_ replied Shepard. _"We found out that Binary Helix had been conducting secret experiments in their hot labs on Peak 15. They'd discovered an egg that was thousands of years old on a remote planet. When it hatched recently, it turned out to be a Rachni Queen."_

"_A Rachni?"_ gasped Kiryuu. _"I thought they were all extinct!"_

"_You and the rest of the galaxy, sir,"_ said Shepard. _"When they found out what it was they had, the company kept experimenting on it, separating the Queen's young from it. It seemed they wanted to 'tame' them and find out their practicality as shock troopers."_

"_Doubtless that would be an enticing prospect to Saren,"_ said Kiryuu, scratching his chin. _"I have been doing some private research into Saren Arterius and Matriarch Benezia. They are both major shareholders in Binary Helix; they would certainly have come to know of the experiments."_

"_Except they backfired,"_ said Shepard grimly. _"It turns out the Queen is the key to calming the young and helping them develop properly. Separated from their mother they went mad and went on a rampage through the facility. We had to be careful about who we approached; Benezia pretty much had the staff in her pocket."_

"_So what happened to the Rachni?"_ asked Kiryuu.

"Try askin' yer marines on Nepmos," grunted Telek.

"_What do you mean?"_ asked Kiryuu.

"We got a distress call from the UNSC outpost there," said Alan. "The Rachni had somehow got onto that planet and nearly wiped out the marines there. We dealt with the infestation, but Bishop's still looking into how they got there in the first place. They obviously weren't native."

"We're way ahead of ya, kid," said Telek. "Joli did some digging of his own, and found that the last supply ship to the outpost came yesterday from depot Sigma-23 in the Gorgon system. I sent Tulsa there not so long ago. Hopefully he'll find out whether or not the Rachni spread from there."

"_The mad Rachni on Peak 15 were all destroyed,"_ said Shepard. _"So at least there's no danger of them spreading from there anymore."_

"_I am worried about how such dangerous creatures were smuggled off-world in the first place,"_ said Kiryuu. _"What happened to the Queen, Shepard?"_ Shepard took a deep breath before she answered.

"_I let her go,"_ she said.

"You did what?" bellowed Telek. "Are you insane, woman? I've read about the Rachni Wars, just like every damn kid in this galaxy. Those things nearly wiped everyone out! It's a damn good thing that everyone wiped them out first!"

"_I know what I'm doing, Admiral,"_ Shepard replied. _"I'll tell you the same thing that I told the Council. The Queen understood why its people were wiped out in the wars. They're not a naturally aggressive race, but something... I'm not sure exactly what the Queen was talking about, but it sounded like they were coerced into going to war last time."_

"_The Queen spoke to you?"_ asked Kiryuu. _"No records indicated that they were sentient."_

_"They don't speak like we do,"_ Shepard explained. _"In order to talk with us, the Queen had to possess the body of one of Benezia's commandos. They must have incredible psychic powers if they can do that. I'm not sure what she was trying to say, but she talked about something corrupting the Rachni and pushing them into war using its own 'sour golden note', I think her words were."_

"Oh, this just gets better and better..." grumbled Telek.

"_I'm sure I'm thinking what you're thinking, Telek,"_ said Kiryuu. _"Shepard, your theory is sound, but only time will tell what the consequences of your act of mercy will be."_

"_I know, Mr. President,"_ sighed Shepard.

"Look on the bright side, Commander," Alan chimed in. "If a hundred years from now it turns out you're wrong, it's not like you'll be in any condition for people to tell you 'I told you so'."

No-one said anything in response to this. In spite of Alan's attempt to lighten the mood, it was as if there was a weight hanging on everyone's shoulders at this news. It was a few seconds before Kiryuu spoke again.

"_You mentioned that one of Benezia's commandos was at the site,"_ he said. _"What about Benezia herself?"_

_"She was there,"_ replied Shepard. _"Liara and I cornered her in the main lab and found out what was happening. We found out that she wasn't helping Saren by her own choice. It's just like Shiala said; she had succumbed to whatever influence it is that Sovereign generates. Luckily for us Benezia managed to regain control of herself for long enough to help us."_ She closed her eyes as her expression grew more mournful. _"Unfortunately she wasn't strong enough to save herself, and we were forced to kill her. At least she regained control long enough to tell us what we needed to know, and to say goodbye to Liara."_

"_You did what had to be done, Commander,"_ said Kiryuu, nodding sagely. _"I am sure Benezia would not wish to continue living as Saren's puppet. What did she tell you?"_

"_She said that Saren had sent her there to extract information about the Mu Relay from the Rachni Queen,"_ Shepard explained.

"You'll have to explain that one to me," said Alan. "Some of us haven't had time to read the history books or talk to giant bugs."

"_According to Liara's research,"_ replied Shepard, _"it was pushed out of its orbit when a nearby star went supernova. The relay wasn't damaged, but it was covered in hot gas and dust, making it impossible to locate. The Rachni eventually found it in their territory, but after they were wiped out its location was thought to be lost forever. However, this surviving Queen knew where it was due to the genetic memory she had inherited, and Benezia was sent there to pull the location out of her head. She managed to give us the co-ordinates before she was possessed again."_

"It's a good bet that the Conduit's on the other end of the relay," Alan chimed in. "Any idea where it goes?"

"_Liara said it links to dozens of worlds which can't be reached by any other relay,"_ Shepard replied. _"If it does lead to the Conduit, then it could be any one of those worlds. That's why we're not going to go looking for the relay until we know for certain which world is the one Saren is looking for."_

"_Very sensible,"_ said Kiryuu. _"I have the feeling that the missing parts of your vision will tell you which world the Conduit is on. Try to find another Forerunner beacon while you're hunting Saren. Did you find any clues as to where he is now?"_

"_No, Mr. President,"_ replied Shepard. _"Benezia had barely enough time to give us the location of the Mu Relay. She couldn't tell us where Saren is now."_

It was then that there was a beeping noise from Kiryuu's end. He held up a hand to signify that he wanted everyone to keep quiet, and read another holo-terminal off-screen. When he turned to look back at the others, his face was grave.

"_I've just received an important report,"_ he said. _"Tracking stations are reporting that the Geth are making a huge incursion into the Armstrong Nebula, out in the Skyllian Verge. It may be the first step of an invasion. Unfortunately we don't have any bases near that cluster to dispatch a fleet quickly. By the time they arrive the Geth will be too well-fortified. We need to strike now while we have the element of surprise."_

"_Let me go, Mr. President,"_ Shepard suddenly chimed in. _"The Normandy can sneak up on them undetected. My team can get in and bring down their bases before they have a chance to entrench themselves."_

"I'll have Cujo rendezvous with you there, Commander," said Telek. "If all else fails he can bomb those tin-cans back to the stone age from orbit."

"_That should only be a last resort, Telek,"_ said Kiryuu firmly. _"We have facilities out in that cluster that I would rather not see destroyed."_

"Yeah, yeah, I know," said Telek dryly. "Don't break the boss' toys."

"_Thank you, Admiral,"_ said Shepard. _"We'll begin the hunt in the Gagarin system. Have your man meet us there."_

"Understood, Commander," said Telek. "Watch yer ass out there."

"_I'm surprised you're not going yourself,"_ said Kiryuu. _"If Saren's personally co-ordinating this attack I'm sure you'd want to be there."_

"I still have another lead to follow up on," replied Telek. Alan noticed that Tom looked rather surprised at this, but didn't say anything.

"_We'll keep you informed if we learn any more about Saren's activities,"_ said Kiryuu. _"I would rather you kept searching for him, but this is too large to ignore, and in any case I couldn't order you to keep searching for him even if I wanted to."_ He looked over at something off-screen and nodded. _"I have to go. Something has just come up. Good luck out there, everyone. Remember, Telek; I don't want to hear of any trouble you have given Alan and his crew in the future."_

With that, Kiryuu signed off.

"_We'll make our way to the Armstrong Nebula now,"_ said Shepard. _"Normandy out."_

With that, she too signed off. As Telek sat back down in his command chair, muttering to himself, Tom stepped forward.

"What lead, Skipper?" he asked. "We have no idea where Saren is. What aren't you telling us?"

"I know what I'm doing, Tom," said Telek dismissively. "There's no point in us all going out to fight the Geth; something tells me Cujo and this Shepard character will be enough." He opened a channel to the _Divine Journey_. "Cujo."

"_I read you, Telek,"_ said Cujo, his face now displayed on the screen.

"Get yerself to the Armstrong Nebula," said Telek. "We got a shit-load of Geth setting up shop there. Rendezvous with the _Normandy_ and give whatever help Commander Shepard needs to kick their metal asses. I'll take the _Wrath_ and go with our old plan of looking in the Sentry Omega cluster. We'll meet up there when those Geth are scrap metal. Send word to Tulsa to meet you when he's finished at that depot."

"_Understood,"_ said Cujo. _"Watch yourselves out there."_ He then signed off. Telek pressed a few buttons on his command chair and switched on the intercom.

"Attention all hands," he barked. "Get to your stations. We'll be making the relay jump to the Sentry Omega cluster in fifteen minutes." Noticing Alan's frosty glare he reluctantly added, "Oh, and release Dorva 'Elus from the brig and the rest of the _Serenity_ crew from custody, but I want a security detail on Dorva at all times." He switched off the intercom and looked up at Alan. "Yer grandpa said nothin' about letting him have free rein on my ship."

"This isn't technically your ship, Telek," replied Alan.

"It is while I'm sittin' in the hot seat, son," grunted Telek.

0

Not long later, the _Silent Wrath_ had reached the Hoc system in the Sentry Omega cluster. Telek told Rolu to cloak the ship and set a course for the third planet in the system, known as Virmire. From what information they had it was a lush frontier world, which normally would be perfect for colonisation, but the close proximity of the Terminus Systems made the possibility of frequent raids by slavers and pirates render it an unappealing prospect for a home.

Telek said little throughout the flight, even as Tom tried to question him. The expression on Telek's face was one of grim focus, as if Telek knew exactly what he was looking for but wasn't willing to share with the others. Alan was now beginning to get worried; the Sangheili still refused to say what this 'lead' was that he was supposed to have. Alan would have passed it off as Telek wanting to cut his conversation with Kiryuu short, but there was something in Telek's expression that silenced that idea. After several minutes of flying in silence, the ship approached the Earth-like planet of Virmire.

"You sure this is a good place to look?" asked Tom.

"I'm sure," said Telek. "Virmire's the only planet around here fit for livin' on. Saren can't fly around in that ship all the time; it has to make port, and this is as good a place as any. Given how close we are to the Terminus Systems it'd be easy for him to slip away if he spots anyone looking for him." A grin spread across his mandibles. "If he's here, he won't see our cannons comin'." Maybe Alan was imagining it, but he thought that Telek's voice sounded rather odd, as if he was been restrained by something.

As the ship moved into a high orbit above the planet, a beeping noise suddenly came from Rolu's panel.

"Excellency!" he called. "I've just picked up the Geth ship on our scanners! It's coming up from the surface of Virmire. You're not gonna believe this, but it's on an intercept course!"

"What?" said Tom, looking thoroughly puzzled. "You think the Geth know we're here?"

"It knows..." grunted Telek, his voice sounding more strained than before. Alan turned to look at him, and saw that the Sangheili was actually shivering. It was as if Telek was trying to stop something bursting out of him.

"This was a mistake..." he grunted, his eyes closing.

"Shit..." muttered Tom. "If they've figured out how to see through our cloaks..."

"I'm raising the shields and charging the forward armaments," called Rolu. On the display showing the blue-green planet below a dark shape rose rapidly towards the ship. As it got closer Alan saw that it was the same dark cuttlefish-like ship, Sovereign, that had torn apart the ships above Eden Prime. It seemed as if Telek's guess was incredibly accurate, but as he turned and saw Telek continue to tremble violently he began to wonder just how much of this was down to Telek's own deductive skills. This was too good to be true...

"Excellency, the weapons array is charged," Rolu called, as Sovereign hovered in front of the super carrier. "Just give the word."

"Skipper?" Tom asked, when he didn't hear Telek reply. Telek was now still in his chair, every muscle in his body tense and his eyes closed. Tom looked puzzled over at Alan, clearly having no idea what was happening to the Supreme Commander. He moved closer to Telek and leaned over him, reaching his hand up to his neck to check for a pulse.

Suddenly Telek's hand shot up and grabbed Tom's arm. The soldier grunted in pain as he found Telek's grip was vice-like. Even more startling was when the Sangheili suddenly tossed Tom away as easily as if he had thrown a rag doll. Tom slammed into the railing running around the command podium and struck his head, collapsing unconscious onto the floor. Before Alan could even process what had happened, Telek suddenly jumped out of his chair at incredible speed and had grabbed Alan's shirt. Alan was sure that he had seen a glimpse of a mocking sneer and a pair of blood-red eyes before he found himself being thrown bodily from the podium and landing hard on the bridge below. He was badly winded and almost paralysed with shock, but was otherwise unhurt.

The rest of the bridge crew were startled as Telek suddenly jumped right off the podium, his energy sword drawn. Rolu barely managed to dive out of the way as Telek sent his sword straight through the helm console, sending sparks everywhere. Several Sangheili rushed forward to restrain the apparently mad Supreme Commander, but he managed to throw them all off himself easily. He darted between each one at unnaturally high speeds, sending each one flying. Within seconds all of the bridge staff were unconscious or otherwise incapable of fighting back. Telek stood in the midst of them, his mandibles twisted into that uncharacteristic sneer.

"Guys..." Alan gasped into his commlink, struggling to pick himself up from where he had fallen. "Get to the bridge, fast... Telek's..."

As he struggled to get up, he didn't see Telek dash towards him and aim a soccer kick at his stomach. His foot impacted with such force that Alan was sent sliding along the length of the floor. He slammed into the wall near the door and lay there, struggling to breath. He felt as if every organ in the waist area had suddenly been crushed under a press. He shook as he tried to pick himself up, when suddenly Telek dashed up to him and clamped a hand around his thick neck. He hoisted Alan up off his feet and slammed him against the wall. Alan clawed at Telek's arm, but no matter how deeply he cut the Sangheili did not react, as if every nerve in his body had suddenly deadened. He heard Telek give a low chuckle, and as Alan's golden cat-like eyes met with Telek's blood-red ones the Sangheili spoke in a voice which was not his own and turned Alan's blood to ice.

_"Five years has been a long time. But at long last, the pirate is mine! And look who he brought with him as well. Little Minya! Next will be your grandfather who will fall under my spell."_

Alan gasped, both from trying to draw breath and with shock. Sheer terror threatened to consume every thought in his brain. He could not believe that it was the voice of that monster that had haunted his nightmares for five centuries coming out of Telek's mouth. He curled his fist and punched Telek's jaw in frustration, but that served little use. Telek just slowly turned his face back towards Alan and tightened his hold on his neck further. Alan felt as if his brain was on fire, and his vision was beginning to fade. He wasn't sure if Organiser G-1 could save him from a broken neck, but it looked as if he was about to find out.

It was then that Alan heard footsteps outside the door, and he felt himself been moved to Telek's left. As he heard the door slide open he was bodily thrown in its direction, whereupon he collided with two other figures. They lay sprawled and tangled on the floor, Alan gasping and spluttering as his lungs desperately tried to take in air. The other two figures were José and Dorva. Bishop and Call were both crouched in the hall, unseen. The _Serenity_ crew had answered Alan's summons, but Alan didn't know if even all of them combined could stop this monster in Telek's body.

Telek dashed over to the struggling trio and pushed both Dorva and José away with incredible force. He then soccer-kicked Alan again, sending him crashing into a control panel. As he struggled to pull out his revolver Telek dashed into him, kicking the gun out of his hand and sending it sliding across the floor. He then proceeded to punch Alan several times in the face, sending blood flying out of his split lips. Even with Alan's regenerative capability these attacks hurt him greatly, and he collapsed to the floor, concussed and stunned, not having the strength to pull himself up. Telek cracked his blood-covered knuckles and looked around him with those burning red eyes.

"_I see we have guests,"_ said Telek. _"They clearly care deeply about you to have responded so quickly to your summons. I wonder, though; which of them means the most to you, Tyler? Shall we find out while they are here?"_

Dorva had picked himself up by this time and had charged at Telek. He grabbed the Supreme Commander from behind and tried to pin him down, but Telek swung out his foot and caught Dorva's knee. Dorva lost his balance, allowing Telek to spin him round and he nearly broke Dorva's arm. Dorva shuddered as Telek's eyes stared into his own.

_"The pirate holds so much hatred for you, traitor. You ran snivelling back to the Liar and left your charge to burn in the fire. Let us see how well you can fair against me, since you destroyed all trust he had. But I assure you, Telek wishes so much to be the victor."_

With that, he suddenly head-butted Dorva and sent him sprawling to the floor, dazed and bloodied. José meanwhile had managed to get to his knees and raise his rifle. A grim look on his face, muttering furiously, he managed to fire off a few rounds which were absorbed by the shield harness. Telek dashed into him, kicked the rifle out of his hand and grabbed José by the neck.

_"And here I would have thought you show me some gratitude. But I really cannot stand that holier-than-thou attitude."_

He struck José with a vicious backhand that Alan was sure had broken the human's jaw, and there was a thud as he fell to the floor, unconscious. Bishop and Call then stormed into the room, both shooting at Telek with Carnifex-model pistols. Telek actually recoiled with each shot as it was absorbed by the shielding, but they just were not powerful enough to penetrate. Telek dashed into them and grabbed them both, using his left hand to hold Bishop and his right hand to hold Call by their necks. Even though both were androids they were still dependant on oxygen to function, and both grimaced in pain as Telek's grip tightened. As Alan tried to raise his head, he blinked furiously, as he thought his vision was going foggy. Then he realised that there was a pale blue mist beginning to form in the room right behind Telek.

_"Ah, I see Kiryuu has given you cousins to join you in your journey. You are all one big happy family. So, I wonder, which one should I start with first? You, who calls himself Bishop. I will end your painful curse..."_

"_That's enough out of you,"_ a stern voice full of barely-contained rage suddenly said.

Telek spun round, tossing both Bishop and Call aside as he did so, and found himself face-to-face with a ghostly Western dragon, taller than he was, covered in silver scales with blue markings, and with an expression of cold fury. Before Telek could say or do anything, the dragon thrust both of its misty claws onto either side of Telek's head. As the dragon's pale eyes narrowed Telek let out an ear-splitting cry, the demonic voice mixed with the real Telek's own. Gradually the monstrous voice faded and Telek collapsed to the floor, shaking and holding his head in his hands. The dragon stood over him, his fury now giving way to a look of deep regret. This was Dunkelzahn, the spirit of a former President on Earth that had resided on the ship for years.

Alan gradually came to his senses as his regeneration kicked in, and looked up at the central podium. Tom was stood there, one hand holding the railing to support himself, while the other was clamped firmly around a heart-shaped crystal, Dunkelzahn's link to the physical world. He hobbled down the ramp and bent down to check José's pulse. The soldier let out a low groan and tried to push himself up, but he was still stunned from the attack and had to be helped up. Dorva meanwhile picked himself and went to help Bishop and Call to their feet. Alan struggled to pull himself up and moved over to reclaim his Technomantic weapon.

"Is this what you thought would happen, Dunkelzahn?" asked Tom, his expression grave.

"_Yes,"_ Dunkelzahn replied. _"I hoped against hope that it wouldn't, but I suppose it was inevitable, especially given how stubborn Telek is. Still, the danger has passed, for now at least."_

When he was sure that José could stand, Tom moved over to the smashed helmsman's control. Around him the bridge staff was beginning to come to, though several of them sported terrible injuries. On the monitor screen only Virmire's surface was visible; Sovereign had gone. Dunkelzahn drifted behind Tom, looking up at the monitor with a grim expression.

"The co-pilot's console's still okay," called Tom. "Sovereign's gone back to the surface, but I can't get an exact fix on its position. I'm picking up signs of other technology down there, including GARDIAN lasers."

"_I think you know as well as I do what needs to be done,"_ said Dunkelzahn.

"Right," Tom nodded. "We're bugging the hell out. I'm sure Erin can get everyone back on their feet. We'll head for the Maroon Sea. I'd better send a message out to Cujo and Tulsa as well to meet us there."

"_Spoken like a true Shipmaster, Tom,"_ said Dunkelzahn approvingly. He looked back in Telek's direction, looking worried. _"I tried to warn him about this. As soon as I saw the warning signs, I should have acted."_

"He'd only have thrown you outta the airlock," replied Tom. "Anyway, I've set the auto-pilot to take us to the Mass Relay. That'll do until Joli can get up here and take over." He sighed, shaking his head.

"_Are you alright, Tom?"_ asked Dunkelzahn gently.

"No," Tom groaned. "But thanks for asking."


	9. Hades' Dogs

**Hades' Dogs**

Telek was taken down to the infirmary, along with the rest of the most serious casualties from his rampage. He was in such a state of shock, his expression deadened and haunted, that anybody wondered if he would recover from the incident. Alan in-particular was disturbed by the events; he would recognise that terrible voice anywhere, but he couldn't understand how this could have happened here and now.

He remembered Telek telling him how years ago, during the Covenant War, he was bitten by a Flood Infection Form. Somehow he wasn't mutated into a Flood Combat Form, as anyone else bitten by those parasites were (something to do with ethanol poisoning, if Alan remembered correctly), but from that time on the retrovirus would remain in his system, giving him a permanent connection to the monstrous creator of the Flood; the demon known to Alan as King Ghidorah. Due to this connection Telek was once possessed by the monster and almost killed his closest companions. Now it had happened again, but King Ghidorah wasn't present. The incident had happened as soon as Sovereign had appeared. What did that ship have to do with King Ghidorah? Something stirred in Alan's memory, but the shock of what had happened made his thought processes sluggish.

He decided to head down to the infirmary and see what was happening. He knew that José was also there, getting his jaw examined, while other members of the bridge staff were being treated for concussion and broken limbs. When he got there he found Telek sat on the end of one of the bunks, his head hung low and with a hand placed upon it. Tom and Dunkelzahn were both standing over him, and all three seemed to be in the middle of a conversation.

"Damn it, Skipper," groaned Tom, shaking his head. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I know, alright?" groaned Telek, defeated. "It was the worst idea in the long sad history of bad ideas."

"_That's putting it mildly,"_ replied Dunkelzahn. He didn't sound angry, but rather disappointed. Alan meanwhile found that he could not stand by any longer and listen to this; he wanted to know what this idea of Telek's was. It clearly had something to do with what had happened, and Alan didn't like the thought of being left in the dark. He approached the trio with his arms folded.

"What's putting what mildly?" he asked. Telek looked up briefly for a moment, then hung his head even lower. Dunkelzahn and Tom both turned to him.

"_I'm not surprised that you want answers, Alan,"_ said Dunkelzahn. _"However, I'd hoped that you would allow Telek to compose himself before demanding answers."_

"No, no," said Telek, shaking his head. "The kid's right. He needs to know what happened, and I'd rather get it outta the way now." He raised his head and tried to put on a brave face, but he still looked very weary and ashamed.

"I've been havin' the nightmares for the past week," he said. "They all kept showin' me that bastard King Ghidorah, and Sovereign. I didn't make the connection until I saw it at Eden Prime. I know now what I was seein'; Sovereign was connected to King Ghidorah somehow. When I realised this I tried to use my connection to that monster to track Saren down. That was why I went rogue again; I had to move while I had the element of surprise. I didn't want Cujo, Tom or anyone else dragged into this, but they came anyway."

He looked guiltily over at Tom, who didn't say a word, disbelief evident on every line of his face. When Alan comprehended what it was that Telek had said, he visibly slapped his forehead with his claw, looking very angry.

"And it didn't occur to you that this would happen?" Alan snarled. "You risked everybody's necks to follow that thing, and it didn't occur to you that King Ghidorah could use that connection against you?"

"I know!" Telek shouted. "I know, alright? I thought we could get there, glass Saren's ass and get out before that monster caught on to what we were doin'. Obviously I was wrong." He hung his head again. "I almost got y'all killed. I don't think anything you can say can make me feel worse."

Alan just let out a deep sigh. He knew that Telek was right; the Supreme Commander would be punishing himself far worse than anything that any one of them could have done. He remembered that it was the same thing with Dorva five years ago; it was a grave error of judgement, and he knew that Telek would have to live with it. He leaned against one of the bunks, his brow furrowed. He then remembered what it was that Kiryuu had told him on the Citadel, about how the ship was connected to King Ghidorah, if his vision was to be believed.

"Kiryuu knows," said Alan gravely. "At least he has an idea. He told me he's been having the same dreams himself. He's been seeing fleets of those ships in his dreams, with King Ghidorah leading the charge. I'm willing to bet good money that they're Reaper ships. He believes that eezo is connected to him too, and damn-near everything in the galaxy uses eezo in some form or another. You can imagine how freaked he is about that." Tom and Telek were now looking aghast at Alan. "We would have told you sooner, but we hoped it would turn out to be a bunch of bull. We didn't want to say anything until Kiryuu could prove the connection between eezo, King Ghidorah, and Sovereign."

"He don't know the half of it," said Telek. Alan had expected the Sangheili to go into an indignant rage at being kept in the dark again, but it seemed that being possessed had taken all the energy out of him. "I got a good look at Sovereign while I was out. That thing ain't just some Reaper ship... it's an actual Reaper!"

"You've gotta be kidding..." Alan said. He had pictured the Reapers being a great many horrible creatures; gigantic dreadnoughts straight out of a nightmare had been somewhere near the bottom of the list.

"I wish I was..." groaned Telek. "The Reapers are King Ghidorah's spawn, and Sovereign's one of 'em. The worst of it is all of them are just like him, like they're channelling his god-damn spirit or something. That's how he was able to possess me; he did it through Sovereign." He shook his head, looking utterly defeated. "I'm willin' to bet my ship that that's how Sovereign 'indoctrinates' anybody that goes near it; King Ghidorah's energy brainwashes 'em." He shook his head and took a deep breath.

"I'm not surprised by what you've told me, about eezo an' all. Every time I go near one of those damn relays I feel like it's gonna swallow me whole. So they really are his work..." He hung his head low, and sounded almost on the verge of tears. "I wish I'd never shown the UNSC how to get the Charon relay workin'. Now we're all in a trap and we can't prove it to those pencil-pushin' assholes out on the Citadel."

"_So for all we know,"_ Dunkelzahn mused, _"Saren is as much of a puppet as the unfortunate Benezia was. I have the feeling that we will know for certain soon enough."_

"I don't know what to think..." sighed Tom. "This is the stuff of nightmares. The worst of it is that nothing we can do will be any good. Saren and Sovereign are always gonna be two steps ahead now; that thing can sniff us out easily."

"I ain't goin' near that thing again..." said Telek, his voice trembling. "I can't let him take me again..." Alan looked over at Telek, seeing the old Sangheili shaking, clearly scared out of his mind. That was the effect that King Ghidorah had on him; it was said that it was the only thing Telek was afraid of, moreso than death itself. After everything that he had been through, Alan could not help pitying him.

"Just tell me somethin'" Telek then said, looking pleadingly at Dunkelzahn. "What did... did he say anythin' while I was out?"

"_He did,"_ said Dunkelzahn. _"He seemed fixated on torturing Alan and his crew. One of those rhymes of his talked about... well, how he had gotten his claws on you, Telek. He said that after Alan fell then Kiryuu would be next..."_

"Yeah, that's right," Alan chimed in. "Something about Kiryuu being next to 'fall under his spell'."

"He's obsessed with Kiryuu," said Tom. "Even after all these years..."

"Oh shit..." Telek then suddenly muttered, his eyes wide and looking more alert than before.

"What?" asked Tom.

"Kiryuu's on the Citadel..." said Telek. "That has to be Sovereign's next target!"

"That's crazy..." said Tom. "Even if that was true, it couldn't go up against the whole Citadel Fleet!"

"Why not?" exclaimed Telek. "If it could take us down, then the Citadel bunch would be torn apart like tissue paper, especially if it's got the Geth on its side!" He pushed himself to his feet, looking more determined. "We've gotta get there and warn 'em!"

"What are we gonna tell 'em?" Alan asked. "They don't believe the Reapers exist, and I doubt they'll be any more inclined to believe that Sovereign is a Reaper and also the spawn of a giant demon dragon."

"All they have to know is that a big fleet is gonna attack the Citadel," barked Telek. "That'll get their attention. Only Kiryuu needs to know the whole story. Now let me get back up to my bridge and get this tub movin'!" With that, he strode past the others and began to stagger to the bridge. Alan, Tom and Dunkelzahn looked at each other.

"You know," Alan said, "I think I like him better when he's a nervous wreck."

0

By the time the _Silent Wrath_ got to the Citadel, most of the bridge staff had been treated for their injuries and were trying to get back to their duties. Nothing was said of the matter between any of them; it seemed that trying to discuss it made them uncomfortable. Alan knew how resilient the Sangheili people were, but he wondered if the mental scars ever healed. Telek sent mission updates to Cujo and Tulsa, and Alan wondered how long it would take before they heard word from either of the Shipmasters.

As for his own crew, they were all in various states of shock. José had been hurt the most with his jaw, but thankfully it wasn't broken. He still couldn't open his mouth too wide without wincing. Bishop and Call had recovered quickly, for they were androids, but Call took longer to calm down; this was her first time encountering King Ghidorah, and she was not taking it well.

"He almost killed Bishop..." she kept muttering. "He almost killed him..."

Alan knew how AIs could share Kiryuu's capacity for emotion, but even by their standards Call was very emotional. Alan recalled when he first met her just a few months ago, not long after she had been created and downloaded into her body. He would never have guessed that she was an android until she got shot on a mission and damaged, exposing the white fluid that acted like the android equivalent of blood. She had been trying to hide her origins, almost as if she was ashamed of them.

Dorva was also in a slump. He was convinced that it hadn't been King Ghidorah speaking when they had encountered each other; he felt sure that the demon was only repeating what was on Telek's mind. He seemed to know better than to voice his worries to anyone, instead choosing to busy himself on the _Serenity_, but part of Alan strongly suspected that he was right. Telek had not seen or spoken to Dorva since the incident; he seemed fixated on staying away from him, and Alan suspected that Telek knew he would never hold himself accountable for his actions if the two Sangheili ever met again.

When the super carrier arrived in the Serpent Nebula, Telek rode down onto the Citadel in the _Serenity_, and soon both he and Alan were striding through the Presidium to the embassies. Telek received a number of dirty looks from some of the aliens in the area. The Sangheili were evidently not popular with the Citadel races, but Telek just scowled and marched right on by. He was in no mood for any lectures from aliens. He had something to focus on now, which was helping him to stop his thoughts from drifting to the incident.

When they reached Kiryuu's office and entered, however, they found an unexpected visitor already inside. A man was inside the office, sat opposite Kiryuu and apparently both had been deep in conversation. The human was tall with mocha-coloured skin and shoulder-length hair which was as black as space itself. His chin had a neatly-trimmed goatee. He was dressed in a dark-brown suit and copper-coloured tie, a pair of gold sunglasses and a golden ring on his finger with Aztec sigils on it. Alan and Telek looked at each other as the man, known to them as Soñador Malcho, stood up and eyed them.

"Bienvenidos, mi amigos," Malcho said in his thick Mexican accent, smirking. "I wondered when I would be seeing you both again."

"Oh no..." Alan groaned. Every meeting he had ever had with Malcho had been somewhat less than pleasant. On one memorable occasion he'd been turned into a small white rat for daring to compare him to a feather duster. Malcho was in actual fact a dragon – a Feathered Serpent, to be exact – and he didn't take kindly to jabs about his feathered appearance when in his true form.

"Malcho?" Telek ventured, looking puzzled. "What brings you to the Citadel?"

"He's here on my invitation, Telek," Kiryuu chimed in, getting to his feet. "Some worrying new facts have come to my attention that concern our mutual friend here, and I felt that he had the right to know. I believe, however, that I can wait a moment before I tell you. Since you've both come charging into my office without knocking I assume that what you have to say is urgent."

"That's the understatement of the century," said Alan, turning to Telek. "Do you want to tell him, or should I?"

"I'd better," sighed Telek. "It's not like I haven't repeated it enough times already; what's one more time between friends?"

So with that, Telek repeated his account of what happened above Virmire, adding elements from Alan's perspective as well, such as what King Ghidorah had said. Both Kiryuu and Malcho looked very grave at this, giving each other meaningful looks. It seemed that Malcho knew something about this too; of course Kiryuu was not likely to have left him in the dark. Malcho was as dedicated as Kiryuu was to finding a way to stop King Ghidorah.

"Well, that confirms my suspicions about King Ghidorah's connection to the Reapers," said Kiryuu. "I must admit however that I assumed that they were creatures that acted as the crews of the ships that I saw in my vision. I never would have imagined that the ships themselves were the Reapers!"

"Yeah, about that vision," snarled Telek. "You should have told me about that sooner, but then again why break an old bad habit?"

"Alan must have told you why I didn't mention this to you sooner," replied Kiryuu, his eyes narrowed. "What do you think the Council will say if I tell them about this with nothing but a bad dream and a rock with a voice in it that only I can hear as proof?"

"To Hell with the Council!" snapped Malcho. "We handle this by ourselves, amigo! I've always maintained that we were better off on our own, and I'm as sure of that now as I was five years ago!"

Alan noticed that Telek smirked a little as Malcho ranted. He knew that the Sangheili greatly favoured independence from the Council, and Telek seemed glad to have found someone that shared his view.

"It don't matter what they think of the Reapers," said Telek. "They're gonna wanna hear this. We got a look at Sovereign's plans. He's gonna attack the Citadel with a whole Geth armada!"

"Do we have anything concrete to back that up?" asked Kiryuu. "I can't go running to the Council with only your word to go on. If they found out how you'd come across this information then they'd be even less inclined to trust you than they already are."

"We got that covered," said Telek. "Tom was able to grab a surface scan of the planet. Saren's up to somethin' big down there. Maybe that'll get the Council to get their heads outta their asses for a moment." He reached for his commlink and opened up a channel. "Tom, send that data you caught to Kiryuu's terminal on the Citadel."

"_Aye-aye, Skipper,"_ was Tom's reply. A few moments later a beeping sound came from the terminal on Kiryuu's desk. He sat down and brought up the holographic display, opening the files that Tom had sent him.

"Yes, I see what you mean," said Kiryuu thoughtfully. "It looks like there's some kind of facility down there, one that's very large and well-protected. I don't know what Saren could possibly concoct that is worse than a Reaper, but I would say that this is too large for the Council to ignore." He manipulated the controls on his terminal, compiling a report and sending the data to the Council.

"Pfeh," snorted Malcho. "Surely it's not something that Sangheili dreadnoughts can't glass?"

"Oh no," said Telek, shaking his head. "I ain't goin' lookin' for that thing again. It's too dangerous for me to be around it."

"In any case," Kiryuu chimed in, "there may be more data about the Conduit down there, which would certainly be worth retrieving. Remember our main priority is to stop the return of the Reapers; any information we can find in that base would be worth any risk to find."

"Bombing that site to dust and taking Saren with it still seems the easiest solution to me," shrugged Malcho.

"We know now that Saren's not the real problem," said Kiryuu. "Besides, any of our ships would have not only those GARDIAN lasers to deal with, but Sovereign, and we've already seen how easily he can cut fleets apart. No, this requires a different approach entirely."

It was then that a holographic screen displayed an Asari woman wearing a blue dress. She was the embassy receptionist.

"_Mr. Knight,"_ she said, _"the Council wish to speak to you via video-conference."_

"I knew that would get their attention," Kiryuu said, a triumphant gleam in his eye. "Put them through to my office, thank you."

"_Right away, sir,"_ said the receptionist before signing off. Kiryuu crossed to the three holo-projectors lined against the back wall and stood before them. Seconds later the holographic projections of the three Councillors appeared lined up against the wall.

"_Ambassador,"_ said Councillor Tevos, _"we received the findings from your surveillance team. Are you sure that is where Saren is located?"_

"No doubt about it," replied Kiryuu. "A Sangheili team saw his flagship itself. I also highly doubt that Saren has any intention of hiding there. He's up to something." He looked over at Telek meaningfully before turning back to the Council. "It would be prudent to mobilise the Citadel Fleet at this time."

"_And what are you basing this recommendation on?"_ said Councillor Ikram, in a tone that struck Alan as sardonic.

"You don't use a facility that large as a summer retreat," replied Kiryuu impatiently. "We know that Saren is allied with the Geth. There is no telling what kind of weapon they are preparing on Virmire to give them an extra edge in an invasion attempt. This is why we must mobilise the fleet, and put an end to this while we have the advantage."

"_That is out of the question!"_ barked Councillor Valern. _"Saren would not be so blind as to attempt an invasion of the Citadel. He would know what defences await him. We cannot act on a mere gut feeling, Ambassador!"_ He said the last word in a low tone, almost as if he was trying to spit it out like a foul taste.

"_I say that to mobilise the fleet now would be premature,"_ said Ikram. _"At least not until we have a clearer idea of what it is he is trying to do. All we have is what amounts to an aerial photograph of a large facility that may or may not be his."_

"You have to take something I say on faith sooner or later!" Kiryuu snapped.

"_Ambassador, please,"_ said Tevos apologetically. _"I see how this is frustrating, but you must accept that we need a clearer idea of what Saren is after and how he intends to carry out those plans. If, as you say, an invasion is imminent, then we need all the ships we have to defend the Citadel. Attempting to bombard the site will cause untold loss to our ships for little result."_

"_A Spectre would be a better insertion to investigate and, if necessary, destroy the facility,"_ said Valern. _"Shepard should be notified of this, though frankly I have to question her judgement after the fiasco with the Rachni Queen."_

"Shepard is still fighting the Geth incursion in the Armstrong Nebula," replied Kiryuu, frowning at Valern. "I would appreciate it if she was notified, but we still need to send a team to gather data in the meantime."

"_We have more than the Spectres at our disposal,"_ said Ikram. _"Spectres do tend to attract too much attention, which is why there is another arm of the Council we can use. The Salarian Special Tasks Group is more suited to reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering. I will send a dispatch notice to Captain Kirrahe and his team. He is one of my people's most highly-decorated operatives, and I am sure that he can settle this matter."_

"_Let us hope that your hunch proves unfounded, Ambassador,"_ said Valern in a very aloof manner.

"Believe me when I say that I share that hope," replied Kiryuu.

"_Thank you for bringing this to our attention,"_ said Tevos. _"We will keep you informed of the progress of Kirrahe's team."_

With that, the Councillors signed off. Malcho let out a loud derisive snort.

"You're nothing to them, amigo," he said, frowning. "Why do you even endure those clowns?"

"Because my position demands it," said Kiryuu. "Also because, should the worst happen, we will need all of the peoples of this galaxy on our side to deal with the threat. This is not something that we can combat on our own."

"We could if we had Technomancy in our grasp!" snarled Malcho. "There is no reason for us to hide it, not after what we have learned!"

"Learned what?" asked Alan. "What are you both babbling about?"

"They have to know, amigo," said Malcho to Kiryuu. "You can't keep the treachery of the Forerunners a secret!"

"No," said Kiryuu, sighing. "I suppose not."

"What the hell?" asked Telek.

"Telek," said Kiryuu, a look of great sadness on his face, "there is a great deal that you must know. John was here this morning. Cortana has finally passed on. She has returned to the Source."

"Shit..." groaned Telek, his eyes closed and his head hanging in mourning. "I knew it had to happen, but I didn't think the years had passed that quickly. If I hadn't been chasin' Saren I woulda been there to say good-bye."

"I don't doubt that you would have, Telek," said Kiryuu. "Just that thought would mean a great deal to her."

"So what does that mean?" asked Alan. "I know AIs only live for so long, but what happens to them?"

"They return to the Source, which is in fact myself," said Kiryuu. "They pass all of their knowledge and experience on to me. In Cortana's case, she passed on information that has changed everything about what we thought about the Forerunners. This is knowledge that she has kept secret, even from me, ever since she bonded with the core of Halo 04." He took a deep breath before he continued.

"In their time, the Forerunners were not the only race with a galaxy-spanning empire. Humanity also had such an empire, discovering space flight and spreading across the galaxy at an incredible rate. If Dr. T'Soni is correct, they did so by using the relay network, climbing on the backs of those who had come before them in the cycle of extinction."

"Kiryuu told me all about your own escapades," said Malcho. "So Dr. T'Soni is adamant in her research, is she? So these Protheans may have been earlier victims of these Reapers, long before the Forerunners came to be? Perhaps I was hasty in dismissing the value of her work."

"That's what she believes," Alan said, before turning back to Kiryuu. "What's this about the Forerunners and humanity, though?"

"The Forerunners saw themselves as the peacekeepers in the galaxy," said Kiryuu. "They regarded humanity as a violent species only fit for elimination. They grew jealous because humanity was given a certain gift that the Forerunners decided was rightfully theirs. Humans were given the gift of the Array, and the Forerunners stole it for themselves fearing that it would be used for war. They took that knowledge from humanity, devolving them, taking their technology from them. With that, they took away their only hope of saving themselves. Humanity had discovered a cure for the Flood, they may even have found a means of driving the Reapers back, but they lost any memory of how to recreate that knowledge. The arrogance of the Forerunners proved to be their doom, as they tried to prove themselves the true guardians by creating that accursed virus of theirs, and you all know the rest." He sighed. "We have all been lied to. No Monitor ever spoke of it, as they did not wish for us to resent the Forerunners for their mistakes. It is only now, after all these years, that the truth has finally come to light."

Both Alan and Telek remained silent for several moments, hardly daring to believe what Kiryuu had said. Alan, like most, had often pictured the Forerunners as being noble and regal, as opposed to vindictive and bitter. Everyone in the galaxy had looked up to the Forerunners, mistakenly believing them to have been responsible for the Mass Relay network. He wondered how any one of them would react upon hearing all of this. It was a while before anybody in the room spoke.

"I knew it!" Telek exclaimed. "I knew it was a bunch of bullshit! I'd been sayin' it for years!"

"You were right to say it, amigo," Malcho chimed in. "Your people worship the Forerunners. That has always been a mistake, and you were right to cast those beliefs down."

"I'd love to rub this in the faces of the High Council," Telek smirked.

In the midst of all this, Alan just looked confused.

"I don't get it," he said. "Who gave humans the Array in the first place? Who did the Forerunners feel they had to prove anything to?"

"That is a story for another time," said Kiryuu. "Right now we need to remain focused on dealing with this new Reaper threat. As I'm sure you know we can't prove that Sovereign is actually a Reaper. Even less that he is the spawn of King Ghidorah. Not yet. If we are to keep the Council on side, then we cannot-" He was interrupted as Malcho snorted and rolled his eyes. "We cannot pursue the Reaper angle until we have conclusive proof. I wasn't this stifled by bureaucracy when I was in charge of the UNSC."

"Another reason we should have remained independent," Malcho chimed in.

"In the meantime," said Kiryuu, "I don't expect that we'll hear anything from the Salarians for a few hours, at least. We should also wait for word from Shepard and Cujo before we proceed."

All of a sudden there was a beeping noise coming from Telek's commlink. Raising it, Telek opened the channel.

"_Excellency,"_ Tulsa's voice said. _"I have just returned from depot Sigma-23. I got your message saying where you were headed."_

"Alright, let's hear it," said Telek. "How the hell did the Rachni get so far out into space?"

"_Well, I can tell you that the station was crawling with the buggers,"_ replied Tulsa, as Kiryuu, Alan and Malcho leaned closer to listen. _"We found a series of log entries made by a Major Elena Flores. The first talked about how they had got the station operational, and had made enough room for two reinforced platoons of Cerberus commandos."_

"Cerberus," Kiryuu snarled. "The same group that sent the Hydra's Teeth to the Chasca colony..."

"Why do I get the feeling this is not going to be good news?" Alan groaned.

"_They were definitely using Rachni specimens imported from Noveria,"_ Tulsa continued. _"They were talking about developing these Rachni close to some kind of 'master control unit'. They even went so far as to 'test' the Rachni by unleashing them on nearby pirate gangs."_

"You gotta be fucking kidding..." Telek said. "They thought they could tame those things?"

"_Yes, and it backfired badly,"_ said Tulsa. _"The Rachni broke loose, accessing the freighters and sending themselves to random destinations. Flores talks about how they treated them like animals when they should have treated them like POWs. The Cerberus forces were about to destroy the station, but from the looks of things they got wiped out. My team set off the scuttle charges and blew the place to Hell when we got what we needed."_

"Good job, Tulsa," said Telek. "We'll be airborne again soon enough."

"_Understood, Excellency,"_ said Tulsa. _"Over and out."_

"Ya think we oughta let Shepard know about Sovereign and the Forerunners?" asked Telek as Tulsa signed off.

"I will send a message to her," said Kiryuu, "but it may not be necessary. Shepard is pursuing Saren and Sovereign; I have the feeling that she will discover the truth for herself soon enough."

"That is if she finds any more of those damn beacons," said Alan. "After what I've just heard though, I wouldn't trust the Forerunners as far as I could throw 'em."

"I only wish that I could get out there and face that Saren idiota myself," snarled Malcho. "Up here I feel like I'm barely holding together as it is."

"Would you say it ruffles your feathers?" Alan said in a snarky tone.

"Don't tempt me, puto," Malcho snarled.

"So waddaya expect us to do now?" asked Telek.

"There's not much we can do now except wait for word from the Salarians," said Kiryuu. "Right now, I feel that our time would be better spent organising our defences. I don't care what the Council say; something terrible is on the horizon, and the Alliance must be ready to fight. We must prepare both the UNSC and Sangheili fleets to assist the Citadel Fleet when the time comes."

"It's your call, Kiryuu," said Malcho. "Just don't... what's that expression... 'put all of your eggs in the Council's basket'."

"Believe me, that is the last thing I intend to do," replied Kiryuu.

"Where's that leave mah fleet?" Telek drawled. "We made ourselves outlaws again when we went after Saren. They'll pack us off to a penal colony if we go back."

"I'll talk with the High Council," said Kiryuu. "I'll smooth things over with them and explain that you were acting in the best interests of your people."

"That line ain't worked with 'em before," shrugged Telek. "Don't know why it would now."

"You should know by now that I can be very persuasive," replied Kiryuu.

"Well, it's your funeral," Telek retorted. He was very cynical at the thought of anyone being able to convince the Sangheili High Council of anything other than their preconceived notions.

"All I can suggest to you both is to go and prepare yourselves," said Kiryuu. "We will need everybody on-side to repel this invasion when it arrives."

"Si," said Malcho. "Now go show those alien fools how it's done on Earth and Sanghelios."

It seemed apparent that nothing more productive would be gained from this visit, so Alan and Telek left the office and headed back to their respective ships. As they crossed the gardens outside the embassy heading for the public shuttles, they caught sight of a jellyfish-like Hanar, speaking in a loud tone through its odd bioluminescence, in the middle of what sounded like a sermon. One line reached Alan's ear:

"_Let all races herald the glory of the Enkindlers, who raised them all to enlightenment!"_

"Deluded son-of-a-bitch," muttered Telek.

"What?" asked Alan.

"The jellies revere the Forerunners in their religion," Telek explained. "They call 'em the Enkindlers. They reckon they uplifted and civilised 'em by teachin' 'em language. Ya think we oughta set him straight on what we've learned?"

"Why bother shitting on his faith now?" Alan shrugged. "What with King Ghidorah and this Reaper out there, I get the feeling faith is the only thing people will have left before too long."

"Praying'll get 'em nowhere, kid," Telek drawled.

0

Hours passed. Telek and the rest of his fleet had returned to Sanghelios to help in the preparation of the Alliance fleets. This had been done against Telek's better judgement, but it really didn't look like there was much they could do. Alan and his crew decided to rest up on the Citadel, as it did not look like they would be needed for a while.

The hour was getting late on the Citadel, as the fake sky on the Presidium gradually turned from a golden sunset towards the hours of darkness. As the merchants began to close up shop, Alan contemplated the idea of going down to the hospital on Zakera Ward to check up on Alistair. When he looked down at his commlink he found that he had a message from Kiryuu:

"_Alan, I've just received word from Commander Shepard. The Geth incursion in the Armstrong Nebula has been taken care of, and Cujo is on his way back to Sanghelios to reconvene with Telek and Tulsa. She informs me that the Council has lost contact with Captain Kirrahe's STG squad on Virmire. A faint transmission did come from the planet, but it was indistinct. The Council have sent her and her team to investigate. Hopefully we will learn more of what Saren is up to on Virmire in the next few hours. I thought you ought to know, and I will pass on this update to Telek."_

"Thanks, granddad," Alan muttered. After everything that he had endured today, he hoped that Shepard would be able to get some answers and fast. He was still somewhat shaken by what had happened to Telek; he was convinced that Sovereign planned an invasion, but the worst of it was that they still didn't have any real idea of how he intended to pull that off, or of how Saren fit into it.

It was then that his commlink beeped. Bishop was trying to contact him from the _Serenity_, as both he and Call were both still on the ship performing routine maintenance.

"_Captain,"_ he said, _"I've just received a message through the emergency bandwidth. I thought it prudent to pass it on to you..."_ He fell silent there as he forwarded the message, and Alan was shocked to hear that the next voice he heard belonged to none other than Lord Hood:

"_Captain Tyler, this is Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood. I found out who set that trap for my men, the ones killed by the Thresher Maw. Since you were the one who found them I thought you deserved to be the first to hear the truth. I hope you get this message. It was a group called Cerberus, a UNSC Black Ops organisation that has existed since the start of the Covenant War. They were top-secret; highest-level security clearance. They vanished a few months ago, dropped right off the grid. Nobody knew where they went or what they were up to. They've gone completely rogue, Tyler! They're conducting illegal genetic experiments in an attempt to create some kind of super-soldier! I don't have any proof, but I found the co-ordinates for what I believe to be one of their main research bases. I'm uploading them with this message. They're completely out of control; somebody needs to stop them! This is... This is probably the last you will hear from me. Cerberus is after me now; they have agents everywhere, and my rank will mean nothing to them. I've done my part... Now it's up to you."_

Alan's blood turned to ice. So Cerberus had been behind the incident on Edolus too, as well as the ones on Chasca and Nepmos. Experiments with Husks, Rachni and Thresher Maws, all of them tested on innocent people... He had no doubts that even now they were moving in on Lord Hood, to silence him. There was evidently no depravity which this group would not commit.

He began to feel a raging hatred for Cerberus burn within him. This group had to be stopped, and now he had the information to help him do so. He opened a channel to Bishop on the _Serenity_.

"Bishop," he said, "tell José and Dorva to get back to the ship on the double, and prep for departure. I'm not waiting for more innocent people to get hurt by Cerberus; it's time we took them head-on."

"_I was wondering if you were going to do this,"_ said Bishop, sounding rather wary. _"Are you sure you don't wish to bring the rest of the fleet into this?"_

"They've got enough to worry about," said Alan. "I'm afraid it's all up to us. Now prep for departure; I'll be there as soon as I can."

"_Aye-aye, Captain,"_ said Bishop, before signing off. Alan was sure that he had picked up a sense of apprehension in Bishop's voice, and he wasn't surprised. This was a reckless and foolhardy mission, but with everything else that was going on there didn't seem to be any other way.

So it was that, a little over two hours later, the _Serenity_ had reached the planet Nepheron, in the Columbia System in the Voyager Cluster. This was the planet that the co-ordinates included in Lord Hood's message had pointed them to. It was a barren, volcanic world coated in a poisonous atmosphere. In other words it seemed to Alan to be an ideal spot for what was clearly now a terrorist organisation to hide. He looked grimly at José and Dorva as the three of them prepared for their assault; José in-particular seemed grim, determined to make Cerberus pay for the loss of Alistair, who he had formed a close bond with over the past five years.

The base was in a small clearing, surrounded by high mountains. A small dome rose out of the ground which evidently led into an underground bunker, and surrounding the dome were several gun turrets. The _Serenity_'s own plasma cannons (operated by Call, who had proved to be a surprisingly keen operator and a good shot) opened fire on them. Spinning and diving to avoid the return fire, the ship made short work of the turrets after a few passes, and soon the ship was hovering above the ground just outside the entrance, the jets sending volcanic ash everywhere.

Alan, José and Dorva, now prepped for combat, dropped out of the ship and headed towards the entrance hatch as the ship pulled away. Bishop would circle the area until he was given the all-clear. The trio headed towards the hatch and pushed the access button. Instantly the hatch slid open, permitting them entrance into the airlock.

"They're just lettin' us walk in?" said José warily.

"Either they don't expect anyone to come out to this neck of the woods so their security's lax," said Alan, "or they've got something prepared for us inside. Stay on your toes."

The three of them stepped into the airlock and waited for the pressure to be equalised with the interior conditions. The inner door opened and they stepped in, their weapons drawn and hardly daring to breathe. The first corridor they stepped down was empty, but as they entered into what looked like a large common area, with tables and chairs scattered about the place, they were fired upon by several armed commandos. Diving for cover, the trio fired back at the soldiers, cutting down any who couldn't find a place to hide in time.

Even as the firefight took place, Alan couldn't help but noticed the layout of the room. It looked similar to a base he had once seen on Eletania; the only difference was that there was a large emblem printed onto the steel walls. It looked like a black hexagon turned on its end, with a hole in the middle and two golden lines running down either side. As the last soldier fell and the group crossed to one of the corridors, they saw the same logo on the shoulders of the armour they were wearing. Alan wondered if this really was Cerberus' logo; he felt that there was a noticeable lack of devil horns.

The commandos were very highly-trained, and several firefights became very drawn-out in the narrow corridors linking the different chambers. Several times he had to use Inferno – a fire mode on his Technomantic revolver which launched a fireball out of the barrel that exploded after a certain distance – to flush the soldiers out of cover. They pressed on through the base, searching every chamber that they came across. They found a variety of barracks and workshops, some of them containing Rachni, Husks and even some strange creatures that looked like a cross between zombies and plants. Alan was later to learn that Shepard had encountered these "Creepers" on Feros; diseased mockeries of humans created by the Thorian to fight alongside the infected colonists. As they entered each workshop they deactivated the forcefields keeping the creatures caged up, and then destroyed them in a hail of gunfire. Cerberus' experiments could not be allowed to continue.

The base itself was not very large, but due to the prolonged firefights with Cerberus' troops it took longer than Alan felt it should have to get to the deepest part of the base. As the last door slid open, it revealed what seemed to be an interrogation chamber, with the only furniture being a small side-table with several sharp-looking instruments on it. In the centre, underneath a large light, was what looked like a dentist's chair with restraints for the arms and legs. Sat still in that chair was the white-uniformed, highly-decorated Lord Terrence Hood, his eyes closed and his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Admiral!" shouted José, running up to the chair. However, Lord Hood did not respond. José tried to rouse him, but as Alan stepped closer a horrible sinking feeling in his gut came to him. The man who had commanded entire fleets and armies, whose cunning mind and brilliant strategies had been instrumental in securing humanity's victory in the Covenant War, was gone. Alan noticed that one of his sleeves had been rolled up, exposing the skin underneath. The small puncture holes up his arm indicated the means of execution.

"Gods have mercy..." Dorva breathed, as he too saw the state of Lord Hood's body. José peeled his helmet off, revealing his face to be a mask of anguish. Of course the soldier would feel strongly about Hood's death as he had served in the war. While Alan had only met Hood once or twice in person he knew that he was greatly respected by all who had known him. Indeed Telek seemed to regard him as one of his closest friends. Dorva moved closer to José and placed a hand on his soldier.

"I am so sorry," he said, quietly and sincerely. José tensed up for a moment, and at first Alan thought that he was going to punch the Sangheili. Indeed his hand did curl into a fist for a moment. He seemed to rein himself in, however, and just stood up, pushing Dorva's hand away.

"I hope Cerberus' boss is here," he snarled. "I'll rip their fucking heart out!"

Alan didn't know how to respond. He felt the same way as José; he could not believe that a group would dare to do such a thing. If anybody in the Alliance heard about this atrocity then Cerberus would be hunted to the far ends of the galaxy. Alan knew that Telek in-particular would relish the thought of killing whoever the leaders of this organisation were.

As the trio stood there in shock, Alan suddenly heard a voice coming from beyond a door on the opposite wall.

"Why are you doing this to me?" a high and terrified man's voice was saying. "This place is being invaded! We have to get out!"

"Weren't you listening?" a rougher man's voice barked angrily. "I don't care if I get outta here. All I want is for you to be dead!"

The voice seemed to bring Alan back to his senses. He dashed through the door and found himself in what looked like a penitentiary, with two rows of cells stretching down a long corridor. A man dressed in the tattered remains of what must once have been military uniform was pointing a gun at a smartly-dressed man wearing a labcoat with the Cerberus logo on it. The soldier turned to look at Alan with a wild, staring look in his eyes. Clearly this man had been pushed to brink of his sanity.

"Stay back!" he shouted. "I've got no grief with you! All I want is this bastard!"

"Please!" the hostage shouted. "He's a madman! Mr. Toombs, you're insane! You need help!"

"Shut up!" Toombs shouted, hysterical. "You don't get to lie! You don't..."

"I wouldn't swallow any of his crap," Alan snarled. "I know about what's been going on here. I know what they've been doing on Edolus, and with the Husks and Rachni. I've even seen Lord Hood's body."

"So they killed Admiral Hood?" Toombs barked. "On top of everything that they did to me, now I have another reason to blow your fucking brains out!"

"What did they do to you, Toombs?" Alan asked.

"Four years ago," Toombs replied, "my unit was sent to Akuze. We walked straight into a trap set by these Cerberus bastards and the unit got wiped out by Thresher Maws!"

"Akuze..." Alan breathed, his eyes going wide. "So you were with Shepard's unit..."

"Are you talkin' about Kaelyn Shepard?" Toombs asked.

"Yeah," Alan replied. "You weren't the only survivor, Toombs. Shepard made it out. She's a Spectre with the Council now."

"So she came out of it okay..." breathed Toombs. "She never had to go through what I did!" He kept his gun pointed straight at the scientist's face. "They were running tests on the Thresher Maws! They let those things hit us just to watch and study. When it was over I woke up in a holding cell. The scientists were delighted I'd survived. Now they had someone to run tests on."

"You can't believe Toombs!" the scientist shouted. "He doesn't have any proof! I demand a fair trial!"

"I'll bet there isn't any proof here," Alan snarled. "Not anymore. I bet you wiped all your databases the moment the base was attacked. I'll bet there's also a self-destruct sequence in this base. It'd be a nice little cover-up. How much time do we have?"

"A-a-about ten minutes, silent countdown," the scientist stammered quietly, obviously hoping no-one would hear him.

"So you know all about Cerberus, do you?" Toombs snarled at Alan. "You know what kinds of tests these sick fucks run! They treated me like a lab animal! They put Thresher Maw acid in my veins. They were trying to make me into some super-soldier. I only got out because you guys stormed in! This man deserves to die! For me, for Shepard, for everyone in the unit! Are you with me?"

Alan paused. It was true that he wanted nothing more than to see Cerberus burn at this point; their experiments reminded him of what the Crisis Control Intelligence agency had done to him over five hundred years ago. He was almost about to say that Toombs could go right ahead and shoot the scientist, but then the rational part of him spoke up. The scientist was now the only shred of evidence they would have of everything that happened here. He had to live, or there was no chance of Cerberus ever facing justice for their crimes.

"You're better than this, Toombs," he said. "You're not like them!"

"Don't try to tell me who I am!" Toombs snarled. "All those men and women died, and I was tortured for years! Shepard was the only one who got away! She'd back me up on this!"

"No, she wouldn't," Alan replied firmly. "I've met her. If she knew you were alive, if she could have helped you on Akuze, I'm sure she would have. I don't believe she'd want one of her squadmates to become a murderer over this."

Toombs was silent for a few moments, breathing hard. He clearly wanted to make the scientist suffer for every atrocity Cerberus had committed. After those tense moments, however, he sighed and put his gun down.

"Okay," he said. "I'm no murderer. They couldn't make me one. Just as long as he goes to trial." He held his head in his hands, looking tortured. "Maybe the screaming will stop now. I don't know."

"Those bastards can't hurt you anymore," said Alan. "Now let's get out of here before this place blows."

He grabbed the scientist and shoved him out of the door back into the torture chamber. Toombs let out a gasp as he saw Lord Hood's body. The restraints had now been loosened, and Dorva was in the process of picking up the body fireman-style, as José stood observing them.

"I..." Dorva said. "I reasoned that your UNSC would want him buried decently."

Alan nodded, pushing the scientist over to José.

"We've gotta get out of here," he said. "Make sure that piece of shit doesn't give you the slip."

"Gladly," snarled José, roughly shoving the scientist towards the door.

Five minutes later the small group emerged into the blasted landscape of the planet surface. It took another few minutes for everyone to reach a safe distance, and soon the dome exploded in a huge fireball behind them. The base was now gone, and with it went any scrap of evidence of Cerberus' activities here. He looked at the traumatised Corporal Toombs and the shaking Cerberus scientist, and hoped that someday the rest of Cerberus would fall.

"Bishop," he said into his commlink, "contact the UNSC. Tell them to send a ship here for pick-up. It's time for us to get off this rock."

"_Roger, Captain,"_ said Bishop. _"I'm on my way."_


	10. The Knife in the Back

**The Knife in the Back**

The atmosphere was incredibly solemn. The UNSC had sent a frigate to recover Lord Hood's body, and also to take the Cerberus scientist into custody. Toombs also departed on the ship, hardly able to believe that he was going home. Very few words were spoken; while Alan was thanked for recovering Lord Hood, it seemed that no-one wanted to discuss the matter, to admit the awful truth. One of Earth's greatest war heroes was no more, and the shock of it had affected everyone on the ship. Of course it was only a matter of time until Kiryuu contacted him, and Alan almost couldn't bring himself to say anything on the matter as the _Serenity_ flew through the cluster.

"_I don't want to believe it, Alan..."_ Kiryuu said, his eyes closed almost as if he was fighting back tears. _"He should have told me what he was doing. I should have been the one going to that base..."_

"Then I think you'd be the dead one," said Alan gravely. "You said yourself Cerberus would know what to expect from you. They could have easily had measures in place to flash your AI core or something."

"_I would love to see them try that!"_ snarled Kiryuu. He reined himself in and sighed deeply. _"What's done is done, and none of us can change that now. Terrence will receive a proper military funeral. I'm glad that you were able to bring his body home."_

"I'm only sorry I couldn't do more," said Alan sadly.

"_I'm sure he would be glad that you chose to avenge him by blowing up a Cerberus base,"_ said Kiryuu. _"I'm glad that you were able to take that scientist alive. At least he can stand trial for those atrocities. Perhaps the information he supplies can lead us to the rest of Cerberus. It may take years, but I am prepared to wait."_

There was a beeping noise coming from Kiryuu's end.

"_It looks like both the Silent Wrath and the Normandy are trying to call,"_ he said. _"I'll patch them both through."_

Two new faces appeared on the monitors on the co-pilot's console. One belonged to Telek, the other to Commander Shepard. Telek looked enraged, to the point where his eyes were almost bugging out of his head. Shepard looked horrified, but on the whole was more restrained in displaying her grief.

"_Where the fuck are they?"_ Telek bellowed. _"Where are these Cerberus fuckers? I'll skin the whole lot of 'em alive!"_

"_Tell me it's not true, Mr. President!"_ breathed Shepard. _"Lord Hood can't really be dead, can he?"_

"_I'm afraid it's true, Commander,"_ said Kiryuu heavily. _"He would be lost to us entirely if Alan had not gone after him. Telek, don't even try to find them. I have been trying, and I cannot find any substantial leads to follow. They have covered their tracks far too well. They will already be working to close any possible leads that may result from the prisoner's testimony."_ His face slowly became more resolute. _"As of today I am declaring Cerberus a terrorist faction. Any who are discovered to be working for them will be arrested on sight."_

"_If it were down to me, I'd have all of 'em shot!"_ ranted Telek.

"Commander, there is something else about this you need to know," said Alan. "An old friend of yours was there; Corporal Toombs. Do you remember him from your old unit?"

"_Toombs?"_ said Shepard faintly, her eyes widening. _"But I saw him get pulled under!"_

"He's alive, Commander," said Alan. "God alone knows what Cerberus has been doing to him in that base; the poor guy was on the brink of mental collapse."

"_I can verify his account, Shepard,"_ said Kiryuu gently. _"At least now he seems to have found some closure. Perhaps with treatment and therapy he can begin to lead a normal life again."_

Shepard closed her eyes, hanging her head slightly. It was clear that the Akuze incident was a very painful experience for her; the scars she had gained from that day had never fully healed.

"_Thank you for bringing him out alive, Captain,"_ she said. She sniffed a little then nodded, putting on a brave face.

"_When all of this is over,"_ said Kiryuu, _"arrangements will be made for his funeral. You are all welcome to attend, of course. You should all know that President Mendoza has appointed Fleet Admiral Stephen Hackett as his replacement. To be honest he was not my first choice for the position, but I know that we can trust him."_

"He'll never be Terrence though," sighed Telek. "He pulled through for us more times than I can count. This Hackett fella's got a lot to live up to."

"_I suggest that we honour Terrence's memory by stopping the Reapers,"_ said Kiryuu._ "Shepard, I assume you wish to disclose your report from Virmire?"_

"_Yes, Mr. President,"_ said Shepard in a rather heavy voice. _"We found out that the base was a cloning facility. Saren was using it to create a Krogan army. Captain Kirrahe had reason to believe that he had found a cure for the genophage."_

"What's the genophage?" Alan asked.

"_It's a sterility plague that the Salarians used on the Krogans,"_ replied Telek. _"They couldn't put down the Krogans during the Rebellions in a straight fight, so they bombed 'em with a plague that makes only one in a thousand kids survive. I tell ya somethin'; an army of Geth is bad enough, but if Saren had got himself an army of Krogans too, he would've been untouchable."_

"_I doubt destroying a cure that could save his people sat well with Wrex,"_ said Kiryuu, frowning.

"_It didn't,"_ said Shepard. _"Things got heated between us, but I was able to calm him down, remind him of what it was we were fighting for. His people would have been indebted to Saren forever if that cure had got off-world, and he didn't want that for them. He didn't like what we were doing, but he understood that it was for the best. I wish we had had more time to find and extract the cure for ourselves."_

"_The genophage was a mistake bordering on a war crime,"_ muttered Kiryuu. _"Perhaps if the Salarians had not raised the Krogans into space to fight the Rachni before the Krogans were ready to use their technology responsibly, they would never have felt the need to deploy such a terrible weapon."_

"_Yeah,"_ snarled Telek. _"Funny how I don't see the Salarians gettin' dagger-stares and insults for their crimes though. Not from anyone who isn't a Krogan, anyway."_

"_Please continue, Commander,"_ Kiryuu said quickly, sensing that the discussion was about to go off-topic.

"_Kirrahe's plan was to plant a jury-rigged thermonuclear bomb to destroy the base,"_ said Shepard. _"Aerial bombardment would have been impossible while the AA guns were operational. I was able to lead a team inside the base while Kaidan accompanied Kirrahe's men to make a distraction. We were able to plant the bomb in the precise spot and managed to evacuate Kirrahe and some of his men, but..."_

It was then that Shepard fell silent. She closed her eyes, a pained expression on her face. Clearly something had gone horribly wrong with the mission that she didn't wish to discuss.

"_What is it, Commander?"_ asked Kiryuu.

"_I..."_ Shepard sighed. _"After we planted the bomb, Kaidan was pinned down on the second AA tower. When I went to back him up a Geth platoon headed to where Ashley was guarding the bomb. I didn't have time to save them both. Ashley wanted to stay and make sure the bomb went off. I... I had to make the call. I pulled Kaidan out. I had to leave Ash behind."_

"_I'm sorry, Shepard,"_ said Telek heavily. _"I don't like soldiers dyin' under my command either. There's no right answer to a call like that."_

"_I had been looking over Chief Williams' service record,"_ said Kiryuu, sighing. _"Her technical scores are spotless, but the assignments she was given were terrible. She had nothing but a string of ground-side garrison duties. No wonder she was conservative and uneasy about aliens; she had little experience working with them. I suspect that this has something to do with her grandfather..."_

"_The only human ever to surrender to the Covenant,"_ said Shepard. _"She told me the whole story."_

"_Yes,"_ said Kiryuu heavily, his face full of regret. _"From that time on her family had been blacklisted. The UNSC have treated both her and her father shoddily for what her grandfather did. He had only tried to save his men rather than throw their lives away in a futile attack. Their treatment of the Williams family is despicable and unfair, and I will do all in my power to ensure that the name is cleared. It is the least I can do for her, after all she had done to help in our pursuit of Saren. If I had my way, she would be given full honours. Just don't blame yourself for what happened, Commander."_

_"I don't,"_ said Shepard savagely. _"I blame Saren. I just left a friend to die and I didn't do it lightly. Damn him for forcing me into that position!"_

"_Save your anger, Commander,"_ said Kiryuu. _"Right now we must ensure that Ashley Williams did not die in vain. We will stop Saren and the Reapers."_

"What else did you find, Commander?" asked Alan.

"_I've just been looking over your message, Mr. President,"_ said Shepard. _"You were absolutely right; Sovereign is an actual Reaper! He even spoke to us; he had tried to contact Saren and had found us instead. He wouldn't say why his kind carry out the Cycle of Extinction; only that their motives are beyond our understanding."_

"_They're King Ghidorah's spawn, alright,"_ Telek drawled. _"So charmingly psychotic and cryptic."_

"_They weren't just made by King Ghidorah,"_ said Shepard, shaking her head. Kiryuu made no secret of his efforts to protect Earth from the demon, so many humans knew of him but didn't dare to speak about him. _"They are King Ghidorah!"_

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_ asked Telek.

"_It's hard to explain,"_ said Shepard. _"It's like the Reapers are copies of King Ghidorah, all in different bodies, like he split himself apart over and over and the Reapers were the result. Sovereign confirmed this himself. He also confirmed what you mentioned about the Mass Relays being their technology. He said it was all done to guide every organic race in the galaxy along the paths they want us to go down, before they wipe us all out."_

"What about Saren?" asked Alan. "Did you see him?"

"_I did,"_ replied Shepard. _"He was right there at the base and confronted us. We found out that he was also researching the effects of Sovereign's indoctrination, testing it on captured STG soldiers. The chief researcher, Rana Thanoptis, thought that he was scared he might be succumbing to it."_

"_That still doesn't explain why he allied with Sovereign in the first place,"_ said Kiryuu.

"_I have no idea,"_ said Shepard. _"He seems to believe that allying with the Reapers was our only chance of survival when they arrive. He believes it really strongly too."_

"_The stupid bastard's been indoctrinated and he doesn't even know it,"_ Telek chimed in.

"_That's what we all think, Admiral,"_ nodded Shepard. _"I can't help but wonder what he was originally planning before all of this."_

"Maybe he thought he could stop King Ghidorah himself," said Alan.

"_Maybe he's just a power-mad psycho,"_ grunted Telek.

"_Whatever his reasons were,"_ said Kiryuu bitterly, _"they are clearly long gone now. He is a coward for allying himself with that monster and just giving up. He is a tragic figure, but not a sympathetic one. His original intentions don't change the fact that he is a threat to this entire galaxy now, and he has to be stopped."_

"What about the Conduit?" Alan asked. "We know he plans to use that, but did you find any clues as to what it actually is?"

"_We did find something,"_ said Shepard. _"Saren had found another Forerunner beacon, like the one on Eden Prime. It... it burned another vision into my brain. Or it might be the same one I had before. I don't know. Liara tried to decipher it, but nearly gave herself a brain hemorrhage."_

"_Is she alright?"_ asked Kiryuu, concerned.

"_Dr. Chakwas assures me she's going to be fine,"_ said Shepard. Dr. Chakwas was one of the UNSC's best medics, particularly when it came to her extensive studies of alien anatomy, and was serving on the _Normandy_. _"Liara put it down to not having enough practice with her psychic abilities; she has never had to dive so deep before. We thought it best not to try again."_

"_Come and see me as soon as you can,"_ said Kiryuu. _"We'll solve the riddle of the vision then."_

It was then that a faint beeping sound was heard on Kiryuu's end. He looked away to examine another terminal, and then turned back to the others with a triumphant gleam in his eye.

"_I've just received word from the Council,"_ said Kiryuu. _"They're now amassing a large multi-race fleet at the Citadel to deal with Saren."_

"_Took 'em long enough,"_ Telek grunted.

"_I'm heading back to the Citadel, Mr. President,"_ said Shepard. _"I want the Normandy at the head of that fleet!"_

"_Understood, Commander,"_ said Kiryuu. _"Come up to my office as soon as you arrive. Alan, you had better get back here too; we must make preparations."_

"Got it," replied Alan. "We're on our way."

"_You know where our fleet is if you need us,"_ said Telek as he signed off.

"_See you at the Citadel, Mr. President,"_ said Shepard, signing off.

"_You come up to my office too, Alan,"_ said Kiryuu. _"You too ought to hear what we discover from the vision."_

"Understood," said Alan, as he too signed off.

"So things are finally moving on, are they?" asked José, who had been listening in from the doorway. "The Council got their heads outta their butt puckers?"

"I don't think we should take it that far just yet," shrugged Alan. "Them putting together a fleet is something, at least."

"A fleet ain't gonna do much good if we don't know where to send it," said José.

0

As soon as the _Serenity_ arrived back at the Citadel, Alan hurried to the Earth embassy. As the ship had approached he had seen a blockade of frigates spread out at the front of the station, and he hoped that it was a sign of a more serious attempt to stop Saren. After all of Shepard's work he felt that if the Council started dragging their heels at this stage it would be like giving humanity the proverbial middle finger.

When he got into the office he was shocked to see Malcho there in his natural dragon form. The Great Feathered Serpent stood there, his serpentine body covered in emerald-green scales and a coat of down-like feathers fading to blue and then to purple at the end of his long tail. His crocodile-like head was topped with a mane of brilliant feathers, and his large wings had similarly-colourful feathers. His talons were as hard as onyx and just as dark. He filled at least a third of the office with his size. Kiryuu and Shepard were also present in the office, and Kiryuu was in the process of moving his claws to either side of Shepard's head.

"Malcho?" Alan asked, dumbfounded. "But wha-"

"_Quiet, puto!"_ Malcho projected into his head. In his natural form he could not speak through his mouth, so he projected what he wanted to say into people's minds instead. _"Kiryuu needs to concentrate."_

Alan said nothing. Of course it made sense that the _Normandy_ would have beaten the _Serenity_ back here; his ship was simply older and slower. Again he started to see vague flashes of the things he had seen the last time Kiryuu had joined his consciousness with Shepard's, but again nothing was clear to him. After a few moments Kiryuu moved his claws away and took a deep breath.

"That was even more intense than before..." he said quietly. "No wonder Dr. T'Soni nearly collapsed; your mind has been instinctively resisting mind-reading attempts. The strain of that coupled with the intensity of the vision would have been too much for her to take." They both looked around at Alan, noticing him for the first time. "You're just in time, Alan. As you've probably guessed I've just finished piecing together Shepard's vision. The beacon she found on Virmire filled in the gaps."

"Did it make any sense to you?" asked Shepard.

"It certainly did now," said Kiryuu. "It's a distress signal, a message sent out across the Forerunner Empire, a warning against the Reapers that came too late."

"What about the Conduit?" asked Shepard.

"There were other images..." said Kiryuu. "They showed places and locations that I recognise from my own research..." His eyes suddenly widened. "Ilos! The Conduit is on Ilos!"

"I've never heard of that planet before," said Alan.

"I'm not surprised," said Kiryuu. "I am sure that's how the Mu Relay fits into this; it must be the only way to reach Ilos."

"How did you recognise it if you've never been there?" asked Shepard.

"I recognised the structures from images I have seen in the Array," replied Kiryuu. "Over the last five years I have been trying to locate every Forerunner installation in existence, hoping to send research teams to them to find any data that could help us. I remember seeing images of Ilos, and they match with what I saw in the completed vision."

"Then that's where Saren's headed!" Shepard exclaimed, her face firm. "We've got to let the Council know where to send that fleet!"

"Ambassador Udina is already with the Council, discussing the fleet's strategy," said Kiryuu. "I'm surprised that he seems to be showing some initiative and taking us seriously for once. You're right though, Commander; we must approach them now and push them into mobilising the fleet!"

"_You say that as if it's as easy as that,"_ said Malcho sarcastically.

"They have to listen to us!" Shepard barked. "They can't just ignore all we've tried to do!"

"_You'd be surprised, amiga,"_ said Malcho.

"We have to try, Malcho," said Kiryuu. "What we need more than anything is to stand united. We have to show the Reapers that we stand against them as one."

Malcho shrugged, evidently giving up on trying to dissuade Kiryuu from working with the Council. Kiryuu and Shepard immediately marched out of the office and made their way to the Citadel Tower. Alan stayed for a moment, still curious as to why Malcho was no longer disguised.

"So what happened to you?" he asked. "You couldn't resist showing off?"

"_Surprisingly, that's not the case,"_ said Malcho. _"Being away from the Mana Sphere of Earth itself means that I cannot sustain my shapeshifting abilities. The most I can do is to stop myself from growing to my true size. Of course these muchachos on the Citadel have never seen a dragon before; I had a rather nasty encounter with some C-Sec officers. Now you had better run along too; you should go support your grandfather as he struggles with those idiotas."_

Alan nodded, and ran to catch up with Kiryuu and Shepard in the Council chamber. Exhausted, he managed to reach them before they stepped onto the platform in front of the Councillors, where Udina was waiting for them. As they stepped onto the platform, Udina nodded curtly.

"Good job, Shepard," he said. "Thanks to you, the Council is finally taking some real action against Saren!"

"The ambassador is correct," said Councillor Tevos. "If Saren is foolish enough to attack the Citadel, as you believe, we will be ready for him."

"Patrols are stationed at every Mass Relay linking Citadel Space to the Terminus Systems," said Councillor Valern.

"We can take a more pro-active approach than that, Councillor," said Kiryuu. "The new intelligence that we gathered from Virmire shows that he is heading for Ilos. We can send the fleet there to intercept him."

"Ilos is only accessible through the Mu Relay," said Councillor Ikram. "The data you have been recovering also shows that the relay is deep inside the Terminus Systems, Ambassador. If we send a fleet in there, the only possible outcome is full-scale war."

"Now is the time for discretion, Mr. Knight," Udina chimed in. "Saren's greatest weapon was secrecy; exposed he is no longer a threat. This is over."

Alan's mouth fell open. So the Council were not willing to risk a war over this. That may have been true, but if they didn't send anyone to Ilos to stop Saren then there wouldn't be anyone left in the galaxy to fight a war!

"I already told you that Sovereign's the real threat!" said Shepard indignantly. "Saren is just a servant of the Reapers!"

"Only you have seen the Reapers," Tevos replied haughtily, "and then only in visions. We won't invade the Terminus Systems because of a dream!"

"Secrecy isn't his greatest weapon!" Kiryuu barked. "The Conduit is!"

"Saren is a master manipulator," Ikram shrugged. "The Conduit is obviously just an attempt to distract us from his real plan to attack the Citadel."

"One ship going into the Terminus Systems won't start a war," said Shepard reasonably. "I can be discreet!"

"You detonated a nuclear device on Virmire!" barked Valern. "I wouldn't call that discreet!"

"Your style served you well in the Traverse, Commander," said Tevos. "We recognise that, but Ilos requires a deft touch. We have the situation under control."

"If Saren finds the Conduit, we're all in serious trouble!" Kiryuu called. "We have to go to Ilos!"

"It is just as you said, Ambassador Udina," said Valern darkly. "Your counterpart and his associates are not willing to let this go."

"Yes," said Udina shrewdly. "I have reason to believe that Mr. Knight is becoming mentally unbalanced over this whole affair. I assume you have had time to look at the evidence that I have given you?"

"Evidence?" barked Kiryuu. "What are you talking about?"

"C-Sec has been keeping a close eye on you through their surveillance systems," said Udina. "I have been reviewing their findings over the past few days, and what I have seen is troubling."

"You claim to wish to co-operate with the Council and all organics, Ambassador Knight," said Tevos. "Yet Udina's evidence has brought some troubling discoveries to our attention."

"We know you have been hosting secret discussions with others over confidential affairs," said Valern viciously, "including ludicrous conspiracies over the nature of Element Zero and the technology that galactic society is built upon! Your acquaintances harbour thoughts of treachery against everything we have worked to preserve; they would see it all undone over humanity's selfish desires to be at the top of the pile! You have shown yourself to be filthy in word and filthy in thought, your processors powered by images from the dung-hill! We will not stand by and allow the work of the Forerunners or ourselves to be libelled and besmirched!"

"What is more interesting is all that you have been keeping secret from us with regards to Earth's technology," Ikram cut in. "Ambassador Udina has brought some very interesting facts about you to light. You are a construct capable of ESP capabilities, a telepath and also a practitioner of a Forerunner technique known as Technomancy. Your co-conspirators in the UNSC and the Orion Alliance have sought to keep many developments secret from us, including research into this Technomancy and disgusting, unethical projects such as the Spartan program! If what Udina tells us is to be believed, then these developments could potentially have catastrophic consequences for the peoples of this galaxy! Failure to provide full disclosure to the Council is irresponsible and detrimental to the very idea of co-operation that you claim to hold so dear!"

"Furthermore," Tevos pressed, "you have clearly swallowed Saren's lies and deceptions wholeheartedly, and encourage your associates to share in your delusions! Such behaviour could be considered reckless and irresponsible at best! Clearly your mental instability, with your capabilities taken into account, is a disaster waiting to happen!"

There were a lot of angry shouts coming from the balconies above the Council chamber, as the aliens present in the great hall hurled their abuse. Now they knew the true extent of Kiryuu's capabilities, which served to reinforce their worst suspicions about Earth's ambassador. Alan knew that there was no possible way they could recover from this devastating blow.

"Kiryuu Knight," called Valern, "it is the decision of this Council that you be stripped of your diplomatic immunity and be placed under arrest for conspiracy to incite panic and treasonous activities! Guards, escort the construct from these chambers and take him into custody!"

At this, Udina turned to look at Kiryuu with a nasty smile on his lips.

"I warned you that your words would come back to bite you on the ass, Knight," he spat.

"So this is how low you are willing to stoop," snarled Kiryuu. "I knew you were ambitious, but even I never thought that you would be willing to hand over our secrets and undo everything that we have tried to achieve over the last five years over a few nasty words." He looked up at the Council with a cold expression. "Will you at least permit me to say a few words in my defence?"

The Councillors looked at each other, apparently surprised that Kiryuu would say this or not deny any of the charges. Finally Tevos nodded.

"I am aware that my actions have gone against the spirit of co-operation that the Council is founded on," he said. "However, your refusal to take me seriously because I am an AI forced me into such levels of secrecy, especially with regards to my true capabilities. Because of your misguided attitudes and prejudice I had to take action behind your back to safeguard Earth's survival, and to ensure that at least one race is prepared for when King Ghidorah and his Reaper spawn return to continue their Cycle of Extinction." His expression was dark, his eyes narrowed. "I must also tell you that I have no intention of coming quietly. I did not wish for it to come to this, Councillors, but you have forced my hand. Your inaction and, dare I say it, refusal to get your heads out of your collective ass will be your undoing, not an AI. You are destroying yourselves more than I possibly could. I am determined to keep this galaxy safe from King Ghidorah, and I will not be hampered by alien bureaucrats. Farewell."

With that, Kiryuu clasped his claws together and suddenly vanished. Loud gasps and screams filled the hall and the Councillors looked aghast at the spot where Kiryuu Knight had been standing not moments before. Alan felt as if his brain had been paralysed. Everything was now going horribly wrong, and clearly living under the thumbs of beings much weaker than him had finally caused Kiryuu to crack.

"Put out an emergency bulletin!" called Valern to the guards. "Find him!"

As the guards tried to restore order to the unfolding chaos, Shepard rounded on Udina, looking livid.

"What the hell have you done, Udina?" she barked.

"There are serious political implications here, Shepard," said Udina. "Humanity has made great gains thanks to you and Knight, but now you've both become more trouble than you're worth."

"You bastard!" Alan yelled. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"It's just politics, Captain Tyler," said Udina coldly. "You and Commander Shepard have done your job, now let me do mine. We've locked down all the primary systems of both the _Normandy_ and the _Serenity_. Until further notice, you're both grounded."

"Are you insane?" Shepard shouted indignantly. "After everything we have done, you still don't believe us!"

"I think it's time for you and Tyler to leave, Commander," said Udina with a clear tone of finality. "This no longer concerns you. The Council can handle this... with my help, of course."

"You won't get away with this, Udina," Alan snarled. "Nobody stabs me in the back and gets away with it."

"You take after your grandfather," Udina snapped. "One more word like that out of you and I will also call for your arrest."

Alan looked over at Shepard, who shook her head in a 'he's not worth it' manner. With one last snarl of frustration, Alan marched straight out of the Council chamber, with Shepard running to keep up. Outside the tower Alan leaned against the railing, looking out over the river that ran through the middle of the Presidium towards the Relay Monument, a large sculpture of a mass relay. Shepard stood beside him, looking forlorn.

"That backstabbing..." she muttered angrily. "I can't believe that we're grounded, when we were so close..."

"The worst of it is that Kiryuu's royally pissed," groaned Alan. "If I know him right, he's not gonna see any use for Udina or the Council anymore. There's no telling what he'll do now. I hope he hasn't done anything drastic."

"_Shepard!"_ Kaidan's voice suddenly said from Shepard's Omni-Tool. _"Shepard, can you hear me?"_

"I read you, Kaidan," said Shepard.

"_What the hell's going on out there?"_ Kaidan exclaimed. _"We just got the word to arrest Kiryuu Knight if we spot him! Not only that, but we're grounded and forbidden from heading to Ilos!"_

"It's all gone to Hell, Kaidan," said Shepard. "Udina's just turned the Council against Kiryuu, and they're convinced we're all insane. They won't let us fly to Ilos."

"_That's bullshit!"_ snarled Kaidan.

"I know," said Shepard. "I don't know what we're supposed to do about it though, short of taking on the Council and getting ourselves arrested. I'm on my way back to the _Normandy_. I need to think things over."

Kaidan didn't reply immediately. In fact several seconds passed without a word. For a moment Alan worried that something had happened; was Udina listening in?

"Kaidan?" asked Shepard, when more time passed without a word from him. "Kaidan, are you alright?"

"_Oh yeah, I'm fine,"_ said Kaidan, sounding rather distracted and worried. _"Somebody just came onto the ship with the lockdown team. He wanted to speak to the aliens on the crew. Didn't even wait for an answer, like he was in a rush or something. None of the soldiers seemed to recognise him."_

"What did he look like?" asked Shepard, looking warily at Alan. Both of them clearly feared the worst by this point.

"_Pretty old-looking guy, with white hair,"_ said Kaidan. _"The only name he'd give me was a 'Mr. Johnson'."_

"Mr. Johnson?" Alan asked, then his eyes went wide. "No, he wouldn't... It has to be a coincidence..."

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"Back in the 21st century," Alan explained, looking around them to make sure they were alone, "Shadowrunner fixers would use the pseudonym 'Mr. Johnson'. I found out that Kiryuu was the Johnson I had been working with for years. He's able to disguise himself; it's not shapeshifting, it's more like a psychic projection or something. I don't know the details; I was quite out of it when I learned the truth." He shook his head in disbelief. "Any half-decent psychic can notice this though, and this station's full of Asari. He wouldn't just be waltzing around the Citadel like that, would he?"

"Of course I would," said a deep bold voice behind Alan, causing him to jump. Shepard wheeled around and saw a smartly-dressed figure in front of them, with grey hair and hazel eyes. In spite of an aged appearance the figure still looked strong and full of energy.

"_Shepard!"_ Kaidan's voice suddenly barked. _"They've all gone! That Johnson guy just vanished, and so did Liara and the others! What the hell's going on?"_

For a moment Shepard didn't reply. Evidently this was one ability of Kiryuu's that she didn't know about. Very few humans did, as it was one that Kiryuu had not used so often in recent times. He simply had not felt a need to go incognito in a time when everyone had no trouble accepting him. Now the necessity had arisen again. Kiryuu looked meaningfully at Shepard.

"Commander," he said, "I apologise for startling Lt. Alenko, but I need to borrow your non-human crew members for a moment. I owe them an explanation that will not be tainted by Council bulletins."

"_Shepard!"_ Kaidan repeated. _"Where are you?"_

"I'm right here, Kaidan," Shepard replied. "The team are fine. I'll explain everything when I get back to the _Normandy_."

"_Understood,"_ replied Kaidan uncertainly. _"I don't know how many more nasty surprises I can take in one hour."_

"Take my hands, Alan," said Kiryuu, holding out his hands. "I think you ought to be present as well. Now take a tight hold; it's the only way I can take others with me."

Alan did so, tightly gripping Kiryuu's hands. All of a sudden he felt a horrible sensation all over his body, as if he was being dragged through a space that was far too tight to allow him passage. The feeling lasted for a second before he found himself in a different location entirely. He was now in an enormous hotel suite, with a large window overlooking the arms of the Citadel. It was clearly a room that could only be inhabited by someone with a lot of wealth and prestige. As he spun round trying to re-orient himself, he soon found that he was not alone.

Around him were the alien crew members from the _Normandy_; Liara, Garrus, Wrex and Tali. They were in various states of shock, though it was hard to tell with Wrex, who looked more nonchalant than shocked. Liara, meanwhile, kept her gaze on Malcho, who was also in the room, looking at him with the upmost awe. Kiryuu was also present, and he had now shed his disguise and revealed his true self. Before he even had time to get over this shock, however, he saw Tali suddenly pull her pistol out from its holster and point it straight at Kiryuu's face.

"Tali!" Liara exclaimed, looking scandalised. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Let me out of this room right now, you bosh'tet!" she barked. "I will not stay in the same room as this... this thing! I should have known better than to trust an AI!"

"Not that that pea-shooter will do you any good," said Alan, "but calm the fuck down! I'm sure Kiryuu didn't bring you here just to spite you!"

"Calm down?" Tali shrieked. "Your 'ambassador' is a psion, a telepath and a Technomancer, whatever that is, on top of being an AI, and you expect me to be calm? I was prepared to work with Shepard; she has done more for me than I've known anyone to do for any Quarian. I was willing to put aside my feelings about working with this 'Kiryuu Knight' for her sake, but this is too much! I've got to warn the fleet about this!"

"_Ah, let her go,"_ Malcho drawled. _"What use do we have for a group of paranoid little xenophobes who brought their misery upon themselves?"_

"Paranoid?" Tali shouted, sounding near-hysterical and turning on Malcho. "Why I oughta-"

"Tali!" Alan shouted. "While I wouldn't have put it like that, Malcho's got a damn good point. If your people hadn't tried to wipe out the Geth in the first place we probably wouldn't be in this position now! They sought to blow all the Geth up because they dared to start thinking for themselves! Are you really that surprised by how they reacted?"

"You don't understand!" Tali spat. "None of you can possibly understand what it's like to live in a suit your whole life! If I take my helmet off in my own home, I'll die! A single kiss can put me in the hospital! Every time you touch a flower without a suit getting in the way, or smell its fragrance without the need for air filters, you're doing something I can't! An AI is responsible for this! No-one in the history of this galaxy has created an AI that has not tried to attack organic life! You've seen for yourself what the Geth think of organics; they aren't victims in all this! So don't tell me that I'm being paranoid!" She rounded on Kiryuu. "What's stopping you from going the same way? The threat has to be stopped before it has a chance to start!"

Alan threw up his arms in surrender. It seemed to him that trying to reason with Tali on this subject would be like talking to a wall. She had been raised with generations of hatred against AIs to learn, and it was clear that such lessons would not be undone anytime soon.

"Ain't we all forgettin' somethin'?" Wrex suddenly drawled with his deep voice. He was peering right at everybody with his red eyes, his arms folded, looking distinctly unimpressed at the display before him.

"_Si,"_ nodded Malcho, glaring at Tali. _"At least your Krogan friend has his head on straight. Right now we have bigger things to worry about than your fears."_

"But..." Tali stammered, looking around at the rest of the _Normandy_ crew as if pleading for support. Kiryuu made a step towards her but she gasped, spun round and fired a shot straight at him in alarm. Luckily the bullet was deflected by Kiryuu's shielding.

"Tali," said Kiryuu gently, "I don't blame you for your reactions to my abilities, and I cannot imagine what your people must have gone through in the exile. It is precisely because of reactions such as yours that I kept so many secrets. I have tried to co-exist with the peoples of this galaxy, but it is clear that they will not permit it. In spite of this, however, I aim to keep fighting to defend them from the Reapers and their monstrous creator. But I would rather not do it alone. I would hope that this galaxy would stand united against them, without old grudges clouding their judgement and losing sight of the bigger picture. Perhaps that is naïve, but it is the best hope we have of those monsters being driven back to whatever pit of Hell they crawled out of." He folded his arms, his eyes seeming to glow with the intensity of his gaze. "Just by way of example, sooner or later your people will have to end their pointless war against AIs, or we will all end up paying for it."

Tali did not reply at first, only keeping her gun pointed at Kiryuu's chest. Her gun-arm was shaking, as if she was now losing her nerve. The initial adrenaline of her act of defiance seemed to have been drained from her. Finally she lowered her gun, though her body still trembled.

"I must still warn the Flotilla," she said. "They will need to hear about this."

"If you believe it necessary, then I won't try to stop you," said Kiryuu simply. "The worst that can happen is that they will waste their time preparing for a fight that will not come. If they should make the first move, however, I will not hesitate to defend myself."

"You do that," said Garrus coldly, "and you know that the galaxy will unite against you instead. If I hadn't seen and heard everything that I have during my time serving on the _Normandy_, I would have agreed that you needed to be put down. Right now though, we've got bigger problems."

"First sensible thing you've said all day," grunted Wrex. "I don't give a shit about what's in who's head; I just know Saren's gotta pay for what he's done." It seemed clear that Wrex was now more committed to the mission after the incident on Virmire; perhaps he was more shaken than he cared to admit.

"So why did you bring us here?" asked Liara. "I assume there had to be a reason other than a lecture on the strength of unity."

"Yes," said Kiryuu. "We are getting somewhat side-tracked. I brought you here because of my promise to you, Dr. T'Soni. I said that you would learn everything about me someday, and now that the _Normandy_'s grounded it's time to keep that promise. I might not get another chance to say what I want to say. I have brought you all here because I must show the same faith in you that Commander Shepard does. You all deserve to know the truth; one that is not tarnished by Udina's smear campaign or the Council's paranoid speculations." He took in a deep breath, and began:

"My history is a long one. But I will try to summarise it all and add detail to the more important information. I am not certain what it is like on your worlds, I am not certain if any of you have ever faced creatures of great height and power before in your history, or to face creatures that not even your best weapons could destroy. But you see, that is what it is like on Earth. Dr. T'Soni, the reason why Earth is so advanced in certain fields is because of these monsters."

"I never knew Earth had a 'monster' problem," said Liara. "I've heard of Dragons like Mr. Malcho, but not monsters."

"Monsters are everywhere, amiga," said Malcho. "Which is why we have Kiryuu. He is built to fight them."

"This is not my true size," said Kiryuu. "I am actually much bigger than this. I am 60 meters tall. I weigh over 40 thousand tons. One of the reasons why I learned Technomancy was to gain _Mass _Displacement so I could shrink myself. It's very difficult to fit in an office when I'm the size of the very building that office is in. I have an office that takes up nearly 30 floors in my old company the Utah Foundation. But I am getting side tracked. I will tell you how this all came about. You see in what is known on Earth as the mid 20th Century, the latter half of the 1940s, Earth was ending its Second World War. This war ended because America detonated the very first atomic bombs on a small island country known as Japan. Japan was a part of what most Westerners call the Axis of Evil and they helped a horrible dictator known as Adolf Hitler who was responsible for the genocide of many racial and ethnic groups. When the war was won in Europe, America, because of its access to the Pacific, turned its eyes on Japan to clean up the last of the Axis.

"The war was won, but a new war began. You see, an ally of the Allied Forces, a large and powerful country known as the Soviet Union decided to begin arming itself with its own nuclear weapons, hoping to spread communism. The Americans, fearing this, also began to bulk up its atomic reserves. And so, the Nuclear Arms Race began. That was when the development of thermonuclear weapons began as well. While the Soviets tested their thermonuclear weapons on deserts located in their own country, America decided to test on small atolls in the Pacific. In 1952, a thermonuclear test was conducted on the Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific. This test was codenamed Mike and it was the largest detonation the Americans ever made. The yield was 10 megatons and the blast sent forth its deadly, radioactive fallout west over the ocean. About 180 miles from that test was a small island called Ogasawara. Because of the atomic blast creating seismic disturbances, it awoke two ancient creatures; dinosaurs, a species of... well they are somewhat reptilian and somewhat avian – like a cross between the two – that have long been extinct for over 65 million years. The two dinosaurs were a fully grown adult male and a male juvenile gojirasaurus.

"The fallout came raining down upon the two dinosaurs, but it did not kill them. Instead it mutated them. They were average-sized theropods, meat-eaters who walk on two legs, about 8 to 10 feet tall. But the mutations made them both grow to staggering height. The adult male was exposed to more of the radiation than the juvenile and he grew a bit larger."

"Interesting," said Liara. "I would have loved to been there to have studied these effects on these creatures caused by the tests."

"I can provide you with Dr. Yamane's work on the study of the adult's mutation, Dr. T'Soni," said Kiryuu. "He was the one who was the first to study the creature. Well, once the adult had fully mutated, it left the island in search for food and the first island it came upon was a Japanese island known as Odo. The natives there believed that the ocean was ruled by a draconic-like demon named Gojira and the mutated adult gojirasaurus seemed to fit the description..."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Knight," said Liara. "Did Dr. Yamane name this mutation gojirasaurus after the name of that sea demon Gojira?"

"Yes," he said. "He did. But the natives called him Gojira anyway and offered sacrifices to him. The scientific name simply means Gojira-Lizard."

Kiryuu thought he caught the sound of Alan snickering.

"Well, Dr. Yamane was called to study the monster and discovered that Gojira was real, but of course he was the one who came up with the theory of the atomic tests that caused the dinosaur's mutation and radical size. They realized that Gojira was heading for Japan, to be specific, Tokyo, the capital. The government of Japan tried its best to fend off the monster, but it did little more than annoy it. Apparently not only did Gojira gain great size, but a powerful breath of super-heated plasma in which he used it to set the city on fire." Kiryuu paused for a moment and brought out a touch pad and activated it. There appeared above it old film reels of the monster Gojira attacking Tokyo, smashing buildings with his tail and setting fire to the Japanese Defence Force tanks.

"If you don't mind me saying so, Mr. Knight," said Garrus. "But that monster looks suspiciously like you."

"Indeed," said Kiryuu. "There is a reason for that. Well, it was agreed that the only way to destroy the monster was to use a weapon developed by a man named Dr. Serizawa. Though Serizawa refused, he still created the weapon, but destroyed the information on how to make another one for fear that humanity might use it on themselves. They got on a ship and Serizawa planted his weapon where Gojira was resting. He activated it and the monster was destroyed, leaving only its skeleton behind. Serizawa was killed when he activated it, preferring to die so that the secret of his weapon may never be revealed."

"What about the juvenile?" asked Garrus.

"Yes, the juvenile," said Kiryuu. "It was not until 1966 that the juvenile, now fully grown, began to stir and attack Japan. Most people did not know exactly how Gojira was killed, so many thought it was the original one. The government knew better and termed it the Second Gojira. Many scientists, using Yamane's research, began to deduce that it was in fact the First Gojira's offspring and they would not be too far from the truth. They discovered why this Gojira also started to attack Japan. The island country was the closest source of nuclear power that the monster needed in order to sustain itself. However, other monsters also began to appear in Japan as well, such as a gigantic moth named Mothra, two ape-like monsters called the Gargantuas, a gigantic mutated spider Kugamunga and several giant praying mantises called the Kamakurus. There was a pterosaur named Rodan who also surfaced as well as an ankylosaur named Anguirus, both coming from Ogasawara Island where the original Gojira and his son came from, which was apparently why Japan was attacked many times by monsters. But the monsters did not just attack Japan; they did go to the United States of America a few times as well which forced states like California to cease construction of nuclear power plants. However, the new arms race was to build weapons that would fight against these monsters. One of the weapons they used against the likes of Gojira and the other monsters was the famous Maser Cannon. This cannon is the basis of much of Earth's recent electromagnetic weaponry."

"Astounding," said Garrus.

"However, even the Maser could not hold off these monsters for long," said Kiryuu. "Especially not Gojira. The Americans named Gojira 'Godzilla' which was easier for them to pronounce. Then, in the late 70s, Earth was attacked by aliens called the Simians."

"I've heard of them," said Wrex. "Their whole species was finally wiped out by their black hole and of course by the Covenant."

"Yes, well, they sought to spare what they could and to do so, they wanted to conquer Earth," said Kiryuu. "They knew they would have some difficulties dealing with the monsters, so they built a gigantic mech and called it Mechagodzilla." He showed the clips from the old reels in the '70s of the alien Mechagodzilla appearing and destroying the Japanese cities with its large and varied arsenal. "Godzilla, feeling that this machine was a threat to what it considered its territory, fought it and destroyed it, ripping off its head. The Simians left Earth, but they did return much later. However, the head of Mechagodzilla was discovered by a man named Gordon Knight, a budding entrepreneur in the world of medical industrial science. He created the company known as the Utah Foundation of Bio-Organic Research and he took the head of Mechagodzilla and hid it to study it. Through its technology, he was able to construct the substance he needed to create biosyntech, a new form of synthetic flesh that could be used in prosthesis. Then, when his company came into power in the United States, he was contacted by the Japanese Government to build them a weapon to fight against the threat of Godzilla and all other monsters. He did, creating his own Mechagodzilla, slightly based off of the Simian technology, but improved, sleek, and fast. However, the machine did not perform well; the titanium frame could not hold the massive weight of the machine. So, Gordon turned to an alternative. He went to the Tokyo Bay and fished out the skeleton of the Original Gojira that attacked in the 1950s. He took the cells from the bones, constructed the syntech and built the new Mechagodzilla round the skeleton. Through his contacts with the United States and Japanese governments, he was able to arm it with Maser Cannons, several types of missiles, and an experimental freeze ray known as the Absolute Zero Cannon. The syntech could be programmed to morph into blade like structures if needed. However, Gordon knew that with all this advanced equipment, controlling it by remote was out of the question. Every test kept burning out the remote system. And so, a powerful artificial intelligent computer had to be constructed from DNA. He called upon his best engineer named William Penter to create such an AI."

Kiryuu sighed and turned to Tali, and then to Garrus, then to Liara, and to Wrex. He disrobed before them and reached around to the metallic spines. Then, he tore the metallic armour from them and exposed the bony, jagged spines underneath, dropping the metal casing onto the floor.

"I am Mechagodzilla," he said. "Designed by the Utah Foundation of Bio-Organic Research and built to destroy monsters that plague Earth and threaten its people." Then, he unlocked the forearm armour and peeled back the rubbery, black, skin to reveal the biosyntech underneath. "And this is the world famous syntech. However, because of the bones that reside inside of me, I am also the First Godzilla that died in the 1950s. During the time of my initial activation, I was not a telepath, I was not a Technomancer, but I was a weapon. Malcho's company came in and developed the very first shielding technology, applying it to myself. Other companies also helped the Utah Foundation, like the Chrysler Car Company, giving me the ability to almost defy gravity after their successful antigravity tests on their cars. I have the ability to kill Godzilla and it was under my programming to do so. However, that was when my sentiency and self-awareness arose. I began to realize that if I kill Godzilla, then, there would be no use for me. So, I defied my creators. I tricked them to setting me loose. My calculations also revealed that it is not Godzilla who was the threat to Earth, but humans themselves. I deduced that so long as humanity existed, there will always be mutations to plague it because they caused these unnatural mutations. And so, I set about my plans of killing off humanity starting with downtown Tokyo. Gordon's attempts to quell my independence only fuelled my need to kill humans like him off." He turned to Tali. "Much like the Geth, I sought my survival, which is why I attacked the humans. I did not want to die. I did not want to be used and then cast away like discarded trash, dismantled, and end up in some sort of government dump site for old war machines. I was worth more than such an indignity! That was my reason for going against my creators."

"Well, that just proves what I've been saying," Tali said bitterly. "Not even humans could build an AI that didn't consider organics as a threat to be destroyed. Guess they're no different from us after all."

"However, Gordon got the best of me and fired off an EMP, shutting me down. Then Godzilla, sensing the bones inside of me, surfaced and came to Tokyo. Gordon realized he just fried the only thing that could stop the monster and he sent his scientist Katsura Yugami to turn my systems back on. Why did he not send Will? Well, when I was going on my rampage, I fried the control system back at the base and electrocuted Will at the same time. It did not kill him, but it did knock him out. Katsura was the only other one who worked closely with me to adequately reactivate me. She did so, but I got the best of her as well. Knowing that if I killed Godzilla I would be dismantled – even more so now than ever for my actions – I implanted a datajack into her; the first one to ever be used. This connected her to my systems and if Gordon ever decided to pull the plug on me, it would cost her life in the process. Though Katsura was the nicest person that I had ever met, I used her to ensure my survival. But the connection also allowed me to understand why humans are the way they are and it allowed me to see the world through their eyes. I fought Godzilla, but I did not kill him, having another ace up my sleeve to allow my continued existence. Instead I knocked him unconscious and sent him back out to sea.

"I had a few more fights over the next year or so with Godzilla, until we received a warning that the Simians were returning. That was when I found out the truth behind my construction. Because some of my own technology was based on theirs, I was able to easily drive them back when they made their attempt again. Godzilla also helped in fighting their new Mechagodzilla – which was not much different from their old one – and he and I began to resolve our differences. I began to feel different about the monster. Take this with a grain of salt if you wish to, but because of the skeleton inside of me, and the cells that made up the biosyntech, I began to realize that I was in fact the First Godzilla reborn, and his father. Now the idea of keeping Godzilla alive for my own selfish purposes was disappearing. I wanted to protect him because he was my son. The spirit of the First Godzilla never left its bones. And that is the truth behind me, why I am the way I am, why I am able to have emotions, why I can calculate paradoxes that should fry an ordinary AI. I am truly alive, a living creature, despite my mechanical nature."

_That isn't the whole truth, Kiryuu, and you know it!_

Kiryuu flinched slightly when he heard the voice of Erika Munson inside his head. Liara blinked when she picked up that voice.

"There it is again, that female voice," she said. "Who is that? Why does she speak from your mind?"

"Damn it to hell, Kiryuu," said Alan. "Erika... again."

"What voice is she talking about?" asked Wrex. "I don't hear nothin'."

Kiryuu sighed and turned to Alan.

"You might as well," said Alan.

"The next monster I faced was a monster created by the United States itself," said Kiryuu. "A monster born from a girl with incredible psionic powers. Her name was Erika Munson. They tormented her..." He paused and took a deep breath. "I made some modifications to my optics; I knew this would be brought up."

_Let me out! Let them see!_

Kiryuu's eyes blinked as the irises widened completely to nothing more than rings around full round pupils. The pupils lit up like twin projectors and a holographic image of a massive plant monster with the head and long snout of an alligator appeared in the centre of the floor. A sinister smile appeared on the creature's face.

"And they turned me into this!" a female voice came from Kiryuu's mouth. "It is interesting what people would do to create the ultimate weapon."

"She escaped," said Kiryuu. "I was sent to face her and destroy her. They used the cells of my son and the syntech generously donated by Gordon Knight to create her. They code-named her Biollante."

"You could never completely destroy me, Kiryuu," she said.

"The being you thought was just a separate personality is in fact what Biollante downloaded into my CPU to prevent her total annihilation, Liara," said Kiryuu. The projection disappeared when Kiryuu closed his eyes. "She is not just a separate personality; she is a separate AI as well. She is not strong enough to overcome me. I won't let her."

_I do not need to; you are just too much fun to watch..._

"Her telepathy, her psionic powers, all transferred to me when she entered my hardware," said Kiryuu. "Though I will admit without her, I could have never broken the bonds that King Ghidorah had on me when he finally came to Earth. It was because of King Ghidorah that brought me and Alan Tyler together. He watched that monster devour everyone he loved and he watched his own government betray him to cover up their mistake for bringing King Ghidorah to Earth in the first place. This all happened 500 years ago. Alan has his own secrets to share with you if he so wishes, especially why I call him my grandson. My mental powers come from Biollante; my Technomancy comes from Malcho, who taught me everything I know. Because I have existed for so long, learning all that I can, I am a Master of Technomancy. There are only three of us left; myself, Malcho, and another named Manda. When the ban was initiated, I did not use any of my abilities except for the one that allowed me to shrink. I respected the law.

"I did teach the ways that the Forerunners claimed to have to others per the orders of the government. But because of my dealings over the years after winning my citizenship and Gordon's company, I have a tarnished history. When the civil war between the Outer Colonies happened, called the Insurrection War, I was blackmailed by the UNSC and forced into the SPARTAN Program along with Malcho as well. Dr. Halsey kidnapped children with certain genetic properties that they found would fit the project and Malcho and I augmented them to create super soldiers. The UNSC also forced me to create AIs from my own components because they could not do it on their own. They wanted AIs to be similar to me, but controllable. Though I refused, again I was blackmailed and forced to do what they needed me to do. Dr. Halsey herself even found a way to download my AI completely out of my body just so I could be trapped in her little virtual world to put me through the paces of making AIs. It's like making a person go through so many traumatic experiences that they would form Multiple Personality Disorder. Only to save my sanity, each AI would bud off of me becoming its own being. Did I fight back this time, do what I did before during my first year of activation? No. This time, I deserved the punishment because I had committed so many crimes and was allowed to go on without punishment. I did not want to help in the SPARTAN Program, but I was forced to. Whatever the Council tells you, you must understand that it was not of my own volition. And I bear the weight of my sins for it. Worst of all, I am responsible for King Ghidorah's return 5 years ago. Now, because of my mistakes, I am adamant on his destruction more than ever."

"Then what is this about you talking about the Relays as being evil?" asked Garrus. "Why is the Council saying you're insane? Or going against the Forerunners?"

"The only proof I have is crystalline eezo and a voice coming from it that only I and Malcho can hear," said Kiryuu. "However, maybe Liara can hear it too, but I do not want to risk her being exposed like I have been. King Ghidorah used me many times, indoctrinated me much like he has done to Saren. We're called Acolytes and he uses us to bring about his coming. There are places on Earth where eezo can be found; two of them are in Tennessee - Memphis and Knoxville. The reason being is that when King Ghidorah lands, he comes in the form of a meteor. This meteor is crystalline eezo."

"That fragment is from the one in Memphis," said Malcho.

"You use Element Zero to travel," said Kiryuu. "It is a part of King Ghidorah. If I am right about the Reapers, and I know I am, then that means that they will use all that you have built yourselves on to crush you with. You already heard what Shepard said and some of you were with her when she heard it from Sovereign himself; Sovereign and King Ghidorah are without a doubt one and the same. The Reapers are just another form he takes on and because they are that monster, they can control Element Zero, and everything you rely upon they can take away. I am not mad. My knowledge of this comes from the Array, the vast network that has recorded this for ages. This is what happened to the past civilisations, including the Forerunners and the Protheans, and this is what will happen to you." He took in a deep breath. "You know about me now, you know what I know and why I had to keep it secret. Do you think the Council would have believed me if I willingly told them? Would I be in this situation that I am now? Probably so. I would have thought they would be more mature about this, but, unfortunately, they are not. So, now that you know, what do you think of me? Am I still a threat?"

"I can't speak for everyone else," said Garrus. "But I personally don't know what to think of you, Mr. Knight."

"You wanted to destroy humans because you thought of them as a threat to Earth?" asked Liara. "I never would have guessed that you were capable of such things."

"That was a long time ago," said Kiryuu. "I do not harbor those thoughts anymore. Tali, listen to me for once, put aside your hatred for AIs. I cannot speak for the Geth, but I can speak for myself as being the first AI created by humanity; the actions the Geth have shown currently are illogical. Dare I say it, they border on a religious zeal, which is even for me, impossible for an AI to have. Perhaps taking this into account, these are not the same Geth your people have faced. My reasons for wanting humanity gone were due to my need for my own survival. My programming was all about self preservation, a selfish programming. But when you are built to fight enormous monsters the size of buildings, self preservation is important. Because of what Katsura gave me, I was able to understand that self preservation isn't the only option. Unlike the Geth, I have no drones to keep me maintained, so I must rely on humans for maintenance of my systems. And I have grown to befriend them as best as I can. I need humans, I need to interact with them; I need to learn from them. I cannot grow as an AI without them. I did not realize in the beginning, but I realize that now. That is why I am different than the Geth. Even if you do not trust the Geth, at least put a little faith in me."

"I still must warn the Flotilla," she said. "They have to know what the humans created."

"Tell them," said Kiryuu with a shrug and a dismissive tone. "It matters little to me. What would it prove? You are only running on a ludicrous fear that may never resolve itself in the end. But tell them. I will not stop you."

"You're not worried the Quarians may attack you?" asked Garrus. "Especially now that your diplomatic immunity has been revoked?"

"I will give a warning; humanity itself can be fiercely loyal to me," said Kiryuu. "Any attempts at attacking me may provoke them as well. Do the Quarians really want a war between Earth and themselves over one AI? It seems a senseless waste."

"Look, I don't care about who you are, what you are, or what power you have," said Wrex. "So long as we get the job done and take down Saren, that's all I care about."

"Saren should be your focus," said Kiryuu in agreement. "He and Sovereign both are a threat, much greater than I will ever be."

"Very well," said Tali. "But still..."

"If I ever have thoughts of exterminating organics again, you can be the first to put a bullet through my AI Core, Tali," Kiryuu said with a nonchalant grin.

"Okay, now what about the Forerunners?" asked Garrus. "What's this about you and them?"

"Well, because all AIs in the UNSC are made from splintered program fragments of my own AI Core," said Kiryuu, "they have a limited lifespan before they basically think themselves to death in a very painful fit of overload. To stop this from happening, each UNSC AI must return to the Source; basically, myself. When they return, they give me all of their knowledge and experiences and I log them and store them. Recently, a very important AI, the one I created for Dr. Halsey 7 years ago, was at the end of her tenure. So, when she returned to me, I received her knowledge. However, she had spent time inside of a Forerunner Installation and managed to amass all the knowledge the Forerunners had, including a missing file from the Array. The Forerunners were trying to cover their tracks, but apparently, at one time, humanity before recent space travel, were very powerful and rivalled the Forerunners. They even attained the knowledge of Technomancy, something the Forerunners were trying to prevent and a war started between them. The Forerunners won the war and devolved humanity to the Stone Age right before they disappeared themselves."

"None of my research even stated that humanity had a civilization that long ago," said Liara. "What proof do you have?"

_"The Array knows and tells all, amiga,"_ said Malcho. _"It is the Technomancer's database in which he or she can download knowledge of past events."_

"Exactly what is Technomancy?" asked Garrus.

"Malcho," said Kiryuu. "I think you better fill this in. You're a better explainer of this than I am."

_"Sí,"_ said Malcho. _"Think about looking at an image, but only seeing one pixel. You can't see the whole image, verdad? But Technomancy allows the person to see the whole image and all the pixels that it makes up. Not only that, but even manipulate each and every pixel to create a new image. And that image is the universe itself. The Array is a vast database as old as the universe and as sentients live their lives, it gathers data of their lives, what they do, how they act, everything. And a Technomancer is able to download this information. Through that, we can understand how to build ships capable of faster than light travel, instantaneous teleportation from one planet to another literally across the galaxy and many other abilities and technology. Through it, we can understand how the atom truly works and manipulate it. We can bend the laws of physics, but, we can never break them. Some say the usage of Technomancy is cheating because we can literally pull out God from our pockets and use him to do whatever we want him to do. A Master of Technomancy can build worlds, shape the evolution of life, or even create it and give it a soul. Kiryuu uses Technomancy to displace his own mass because if he were to condense himself, he'd be heavier than he is... he'd go right through the floor! And he'll even have a slight gravitational pull. Mass Displacement keeps that from happening. He can manipulate his own atoms without harmful effects. There is a drawback. One cannot just access the Array and expect to download all the knowledge of 15 billion years of existence. You'd die from the overload to your own mind. So, you must be specific in what you wish to download and you can only hold that knowledge for a short time. But during that short time, you got the Powers that Be in your hands."_

"The Forerunners had that knowledge?" asked Liara.

_"The Forerunners stole that knowledge!"_ said Malcho. _"Among other things. They stole my memories as well! I am 155,791 years old! Nearly 80 thousand of those years were stolen from me so I could keep a terrible secret the Forerunners were hiding. And to top it off, they corrupted the Array as well, keeping it from sharing with me what was missing, from knowing the truth. They were jealous of humanity; they feared that humanity would destroy themselves with Technomancy. However, there was a reason it was given to humanity. It was given to them because humans were very alike in mindset to the first wielders of Technomancy, the Precursors."_

"Precursors?" asked Liara. "Another civilization lost to the Reapers?"

"No," said Kiryuu. "They left, they weren't destroyed. In fact, they were the only ones who could effectively go against the Reapers. Their mastery of the technology known as Technomancy was so great that they could manipulate singularities on a grand scale and they used this ability to banish the Reapers and their sire. This mastery is something that not even I can do. I don't know if Malcho can..."

_"Because I lost much of my knowledge, I doubt it,"_ said Malcho. _"I don't know how they did it. But I saw it for myself as well. He just concentrated and all of the fleets of the Reapers just vanished! I've never seen anything like that before in my life!"_

"I haven't found any information or relics of these Precursors either," said Liara.

_"Well, they've been gone for so long that even some of their structures have either been metamorphosed by crustal movement, or they just out right destroyed them,"_ said Malcho. _"Also, from what I managed to gather from the Array is that when the Halos fired, the beam that rushed across the galaxy had a harmonic resonance to the remaining Precursor structures and because of this, the blast wave destroyed them as well. And that is also probably why."_

"Because of this, we have no proof," said Kiryuu. "All we can do is say what we have learned from the Array, but unless the Council can Connect as well, there is no way we can prove it. All the information, the proof about the Reapers, the Mass Relays, everything, even the information on the Cycle of Extinction, they all have been recorded by the Array, but only a Technomancer can access that knowledge."

"But I was right about the Cycle," said Liara. "Does this prove my correlation to the Cycle of Extinction and now how it connects to the Reapers?"

_"The Array can prove that, amiga,"_ said Malcho. _"And more. With it, we can go back and relive each event as if it happened yesterday."_

"What does this Array say about the Conduit?" asked Garrus. "It's been the thing that we've been looking for."

"I concurred upon Shepard's findings that the Conduit rests on Ilos," said Kiryuu. "Which is why I wanted you all to go there. However, sometimes, access to the Array is hit and miss. Much like some of the old search algorithms of the old Internet in the early 21st Century. Sometimes, you just can't find exactly what you are looking for. But I will say this, there is a connection between the Reapers and the Conduit and a reason why Saren is after it. It is very important."

"Can you find out now?" asked Alan.

Kiryuu took in a deep breath and reached behind the back of his neck. He pulled forth several strands of glowing blue energy from his neck and allowed them to drape down towards the floor. He closed his eyes and allowed the information to freely flow into him, searching for the Conduit in the great database. It was then, he found himself hitting a roadblock. Something was preventing him from going any further. The information itself appeared only to be gibberish to him. Kiryuu opened his eyes and looked over to Malcho.

"I think you should see this," he said.

_"Caramba,"_ said Malcho. _"Do I have to do everything for you? What is it now?"_

Malcho pulled out his cords as well and began his searching. He too found the block in the server. Only faint strands of data managed to flow through and even then, they were jumbled and hardly recognizable. He did see one distinct shape, a Mass Relay. The rest of the information he managed to download made no sense to him.

_"I don't understand it,"_ he said. _"I see a Mass Relay, but it's not in space."_

"We found another corrupt file," said Kiryuu. "Or there's something preventing us from seeing."

"A Mass Relay but it's not in space?" asked Liara.

"Where would a Mass Relay be if not in space?" asked Wrex.

"It doesn't make sense," said Tali.

"Which is why you need to get to Ilos," said Kiryuu. "Only you can piece together the fragments we saw."

_"Sometimes, the answers just can't be handed to us,"_ said Malcho. _"But even if we could tell you, you still must go there. After all, we have no proof. But you can bring back that solid proof."_

"Kaidan is a Technomancer," said Alan. "I remember him saying so. And so is Captain Tom Jimenez. If they can also testify that what you two are saying is true..."

_"They would be put under scrutiny as much as we are,"_said Malcho.

"Malcho is right," said Kiryuu. "The Council wouldn't believe them because they would think we were force-feeding them the answers. No, solid proof is needed. And I fear that if Malcho is right about what the Citadel is as well, then the only way to prove it to the Council is to activate it."

"Right about what?" asked Garrus.

"Malcho?" asked Kiryuu.

_"The Array has shown me that the Citadel is a Mass Relay that is so enormous, it can send entire fleets through all at once,"_ said Malcho. _"And it leads to one place, the place where the other Reapers are. That is how they all come here and bring about the Cycles of Extinction."_

"And that is why Sovereign is heading here," said Kiryuu. "He needs Saren to activate the Relay. If we try to warn the Council about this without any proof, they will lock us up. To prove it to them, we would need to activate it, but doing so will bring the other Reapers. Catch 22."

"A deadly one," said Garrus. "I see what you mean when you say you know these things but can never speak of them. How can you when no one will believe you?"

"And now you know our troubles," said Kiryuu. "You must do this for us, for all of us, even the bullheaded Council."

"_Captain Tyler!"_ a voice suddenly said from Alan's commlink. It was Shepard. _"Captain Tyler, do you read me?"_

"Shepard?" Alan asked, puzzled. "How did you get this frequency?"

"_I spoke to your crew,"_ said Shepard. _"They gave it to me."_

"Alright, then, what is it?" Alan asked.

"_I need Liara and the others back on the Normandy ASAP,"_ Shepard replied. _"You too, Captain; I figured you'd want to be in on this."_

"In on what?" asked Alan.

"_Can't say here,"_ said Shepard. _"It's too risky. Just get yourselves back here as soon as you can. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything with President Knight, but this can't wait."_

"Roger that," Alan said, signing off. "Are we done here?"

"I believe so," said Kiryuu. "You all know everything now, and I pray that my trust in you all proves to be justified. I will take you all to the _Normandy_ now." He instructed everyone to hold each other's hands like a daisy-chain, as they all formed a circle in the middle of the room. "I only hope that this means Shepard has found a solution to our mutual problem."

"Just don't expect us to start dancing 'Ring Around the Roses'," Alan smirked.

"_Good luck, amigos,"_ Malcho said. _"For all our sakes."_

With that, Kiryuu resumed his Mr. Johnson disguise and teleported everyone to the _Normandy_. He didn't stay to hear any explanations as he immediately returned to Malcho's room, which at present was the only safe place for them. They were using their abilities to confuse the senses of anyone who got too close; they would suddenly remember important appointments elsewhere and leave.

Ten minutes later, the news-feed was to bring some very interesting information to Kiryuu's ears. The _Normandy_'s lockdown had suddenly been overridden from the Earth embassy, and the ship had escaped with all of its crew onboard. Not only that, but Ambassador Udina was found in his office concussed and nursing his jaw, and had now called for Captain Anderson's arrest on charges of assault and treason. Kiryuu burst out laughing as he pieced together what Shepard and Anderson had done.

"_Sounds like Anderson wasn't impressed by that idiota's little stunt either,"_ said Malcho.

"Indeed," said Kiryuu, still chuckling. "Good for him."


	11. The Forerunners' Final Gift

**The Forerunners' Final Gift**

"Aww, damnit!" moaned Jeff 'Joker' Moreau, the _Normandy_'s pilot. "No sign of pursuit? I was hoping the Council would send some ships after us! I was looking forward to putting the _Normandy_ through her paces; I figured I'd get to see what this ship can really do."

"Saren's still out there," replied Shepard. "Maybe we'll get a chance to play hide-and-seek with Sovereign."

"You know it doesn't seem like much fun when you say it, Commander," Joker said with a wry smile.

"Sorry, Joker," replied Shepard, "but one of us has to be the serious one. Right, you know where we go next."

"I won't even leave 'em the tail-lights, Commander," said Joker, returning to the pilot's console. Shepard turned to Alan, who was also in the cockpit and was looking over the array of scanners on the wall.

"He's got a point though," he said as he followed Shepard down the oval-shaped corridor leading to the main part of the bridge. The interior of the ship was navy-blue coloured, with control panels everywhere and an immense hologram of the Milky Way galaxy in the centre. "I'm surprised none of the Citadel ships are coming after us."

"I think they're all tied up with this blockade," replied Shepard. "They probably think they can't spare the ships, not that they'll do them any good if Sovereign shows up."

They headed into the conference room at the back of the deck; a large circular space with eight chairs lined around the walls and holo-terminals lined against the wall opposite the door. Kaidan, Garrus, Liara, Tali and Wrex were already in the room, and both Alan and Shepard sat down on either side of Kaidan. Alan noticed that Shepard looked over at the empty chair for just a moment; by rights Ashley should have been in this room too.

"Okay, first things first," said Alan. "How the hell did you pull this off?"

"We've got Anderson to thank for that," said Shepard. "He volunteered to override the lockdown from Udina's office and help us get out. I don't know why he'd help us when we still couldn't prove anything about the Reapers, but he said Udina had made this personal anyway."

"He'll be arrested for sure," said Kaidan. "He knew that going in. We're fast running out of friends, but at least we've got a chance now to stop Sovereign. We're en-route to Ilos now."

"Okay, so what about me?" asked Alan.

"We figured you'd want to tag along on this," said Shepard. "I arranged for your gear to be transferred to the _Normandy_'s cargo hold."

"_Captain!"_ José's voice suddenly said from Alan's commlink. _"Boss, tell me that's you on the other end!"_

"I'm here, José," said Alan. "Sorry for my abrupt departure, but we're gonna miss a meeting with a mutual 'friend'."

"_I wondered what the hell the Commander was playing at,"_ José grunted. _"I shoulda seen it comin' when she asked for your hardsuit. Why didn't ya say anythin'? We should be there with ya!"_

"It was all spur-of-the-moment," said Alan. "Besides, I would have ordered you to stay behind anyway."

"_What?"_ José bellowed. _"You don't trust us?"_

"Quite the opposite," replied Alan. "I'd leave you behind because you're the only ones I trust. Sovereign's on his way, I'm sure of it, and when he gets to the Citadel somebody's got to be at the hospital on Zakera Ward. Not only would I rather see that you don't become a widower, I need someone to keep an eye on Alistair. He's especially susceptible to indoctrination now; I need you guys there in case something happens."

"_Aye-aye,"_ sighed José. _"We'll try and keep a low profile until then. I know we haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but you'd damn well better make it back."_

"I plan to," said Alan firmly. "See you on the other side." He signed off.

"So what did Kiryuu want you all for?" asked Shepard. "We've got some time to kill before we reach Ilos."

"Well," said Liara, "do you remember when he promised to tell me everything?"

Shepard nodded.

"Well, he did alright," said Garrus. "And then some."

With that, all four of the aliens began to explain what Kiryuu had told them in the hotel. The majority of it was information that Shepard and Kaidan already knew, whether from their own experiences or what they were taught in school. When they mentioned what Kiryuu had discovered about the connection between Element Zero and King Ghidorah, both looked worried.

"It's Catch 22, alright," said Kaidan bitterly. "We can't live with eezo, but we can't live without it."

The revelations about the Forerunners and their apparent attack on humanity were new to them, however. Kaidan in-particular had a look of utter disbelief on his face.

"If anyone other than Kiryuu had said it, I would have called bullshit," he said. "What reason would he have to lie about this?"

"So now we can't count on any of their so-called wisdom," said Shepard darkly. "Can you imagine what would happen if this could be proven? The whole damn galaxy would be up in arms."

"I'd say that they are already," muttered Garrus. "Now that Kiryuu's secrets are out, they'll want his head."

What was also unknown to the others before then was the nature of the Spartan program. While they had known of its existence the exact means of the creation of the Spartans had been classified to them. Now the truth was out, and Shepard looked utterly disgusted.

"I've always known there was something wrong with the Spartans," she snarled. "I've felt it in my gut. They weren't soldiers to me; they were robots, stripped of any trace of humanity. I know they say the military can dehumanise someone, but this was beyond that. How the hell could they do such a thing to children?"

"I know I'd like to have a few words with this Halsey character," muttered Kaidan.

"She's probably a ghost by now," said Shepard. "Anyway, we can't lose sight of what we need to do now. Whatever the Conduit is, it's on Ilos, and our only hope is to stop Saren from finding it. The _Normandy_'s stealth systems should get us past any Geth blockades, assuming none of them look out of a window." She got to her feet, looking determined. "We've made it this far, and if we all pull together we'll finish this once and for all. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud." She began to step out of the conference room. "I'll be in my cabin if you need me."

She stepped out of the room. Alan could see that same fire in Shepard's eyes that Telek had; clearly she too was a natural born leader. Looking around him, he noticed that Liara was looking after her with an odd expression, almost like longing mixed with sadness. She then looked at Alan.

"Ambassador Knight mentioned that you had some secrets of your own," she said, making Alan smile slightly that someone was still calling Kiryuu 'ambassador'. "What did he mean by that? Why does he call you his grandson?"

"Well, there is a physical resemblance," said Garrus, peering at Alan shrewdly.

"If you wanna tell 'em, Captain," said Kaidan, "you go right ahead. I don't think I need to be here to listen." With that, he stood up and followed Shepard out of the room. Alan began to wonder if there was more going on here than the Technomancer was letting on; he thought he had caught a few meaningful looks between him and the Commander. When Kaidan was gone, Alan sighed.

"I preferred it when nobody knew who I was," he said. "There's a lot to be said for being anonymous." He turned back to the four aliens. "Well, I may as well tell you everything, to pass the time before we reach Ilos." He took a deep breath and began:

"I was born in the year 1966 and raised in Whitby, a small town on the north-east of England. As soon as I left school in 1984 I took a year out in Japan. Would you believe that once upon a time I fancied teaching English abroad? I didn't want to be stuck in Whitby all my life, ending up as a fisherman like my dad. That all changed when Godzilla the Second picked that year to stop by Tokyo. For a long time monster attacks were pretty much just a rumour in England; no monsters ever came there, so they went pretty much unheard of aside from the odd article at the bottom of a newspaper page.

"When Godzilla attacked, I was in awe. From that time on I knew that I had to learn everything I could about that monster. I got a permanent residence in Japan, and was introduced to Tetsuo Yagame, who was what they called a G-Chaser. Those guys were a bit like stormchasers; they followed the giant monsters wherever they could, either just for an adrenaline rush, as freelance photographers, or hired by government and scientific groups to help in their research. Through Tetsuo I was introduced to a Dr. Yuji Shinoda and his first wife. I became a working partner to Shinoda, helping his Godzilla Prediction Network to gather data on Godzilla and track his movements. He knew all along that Godzilla couldn't be destroyed, so he wanted to help his country try to learn how to adapt and co-exist with him. Unfortunately Shinoda's wife eventually died in childbirth, and I became an uncle to his daughter Io, not to mention having to play matchmaker with his second wife Yuki Ichinose.

"Anyway, around the turn of the millennium Godzilla showed up again, and I was involved in a chase with Tetsuo and an American named Joel Sellinger. On this chase, though, things would go really badly wrong. The blast bombs the military had set up to destroy the monster went off a lot sooner than we were told they would be, and we were all caught in the blast. It's a miracle we survived."

"You went into a combat zone, knowing the dangers and without any means of protection?" asked Garrus, looking appalled.

"I didn't say G-Chasing was easy or had the smartest people," said Alan. "We were recovered and taken to the Crisis Control Intelligence agency, the government division set up to co-ordinate the defence of the country with the JSDF. There they..." Alan paused here, feeling that it was painful to experience these memories again. "They had acquired samples of Godzilla's DNA, and wanted to test the effects on humans. They knew that Godzilla could regenerate from near-fatal wounds, and wanted to know if this could be applied for medical treatments. All well and good, you might be thinking, but we were in no position to ask about it.

"Well, as you'd expect, the treatment backfired. We recovered and gained Godzilla's regenerative ability, but the stuff that makes it all possible, Organiser G-1, didn't like being in human bodies. It started to mutate us into forms that would better suit its needs; in other words, it was turning us into Godzillas as well. It didn't matter to the scientists, of course; in fact, they got pretty damn excited that we had somehow gained some kind of psychic bond to Godzilla. Don't ask me how it's possible, but everything with Godzilla's blood in it is connected. I'm bonded to Kiryuu, Godzilla and Erika. The scientists wanted to know if they could use us to control Godzilla somehow, like a remote control.

"They didn't expect any of us to escape, of course. I finally managed to do so. For a long time after that the first thing I could ever remember was waking up in a ditch outside Tokyo's city limits, being discovered by a family who had been out walking their dogs. The trauma of the experiments had given me amnesia, and it took me a long time to piece my life back together. I still couldn't remember the experiments though, and the worst of it is that there's no telling how many more people they did the exact same experiments on, trying to repeat the success they'd had with me.

"Then, about a month before Kiryuu was revealed to the world, King Ghidorah attacked England while I was back there visiting my family. He systematically tore down most of the country's cities and towns, including my hometown..." He paused here, his eyes closed. He had not had to think about those days in a long time, and the pain of the memories was threatening to surface. "That monster devoured everyone I cared about, just like that," he finished, snapping his fingers.

"I can't imagine what that must have been like..." said Liara, looking sympathetic.

"It's an old wound," said Alan. "It's had plenty of time to heal. Anyway, most of England got blitzed because we weren't prepared for any monster attacks. The army pulled out their most powerful weaponry to make a final stand in London. He was driven off; I think he was caught by surprise, and he flew off to lick his wounds and prepare for another attempt. Ironically, as Kiryuu already said, he was what brought me and Kiryuu together. He hired me to recover information on Serizawa's old weapon, and in return he gave me the info I needed to expose the cover-up of the whole 'Monster Zero' affair, as well as finally helping me learn the truth about the experiments on me. It wouldn't be unfair to say that we didn't get off to the best of starts; I hated what he represented, especially after the truth of the way his bones were used was made public. It felt to me like they had played God. I didn't even know the half of it until I found out about the nature of his AI.

"After King Ghidorah was defeated on his second attempt, we went our separate ways for a while. Organiser G-1 was still trying to mutate my body, but for a while I thought I'd been able to get it under control. However, in the late 21st century my mutations went out of control, threatening to consume me completely. Kiryuu stepped in and put me in cryogenic suspension, forcing me to leave behind everything I know, including someone who was really dear to me." He paused here for a moment, composing himself before he continued. "The theory being that it would force Organiser G-1 to adapt to my body, rather than the other way around." He raised his own grey-scaled, clawed arm and looked at it. "That was how I spent nearly five-hundred years, sleeping and changing. As you can tell things didn't work out quite how I'd hoped."

"I'm sure any scientist in this galaxy would want to know about this," said Liara. "Maybe they could find some answers, perhaps even a way to reverse the mutation?"

"No," said Alan, shaking his head. "I don't want people poking around at me. Research on Godzilla's cells is forbidden for a damn good reason. Besides, I've grown too used to my appearance to care by this point. Anyway, to cut what's already a long story short, after I had woken up and taken care of some business in Chicago, I had a year to think about things before Kiryuu disappeared after the war. I figured that somebody had to get out there and look for him. That was how I fell in with the Fleet Shadow of Fury, we found him, got introduced to the Citadel, and that pretty much brings us to today."

"That's..." said Garrus, pausing for a moment as if looking for the right words. "That's quite a story."

"Yeah, and that's just the basic facts," said Alan wryly. "If I hadn't been through it all I wouldn't have believed it myself."

"Is this the last story I need to listen to?" drawled Wrex. "I'm amazed we've still remembered what we're supposed to be doin'."

"You're right," Alan sighed. "There's little we can do now but prepare however we can for this assault. I wanna see Saren go down as much as anyone. Thanks for listening though."

With that, the others headed back to their stations. Alan remained in the conference room for much of the trip, preparing himself and practicing the moves that Telek had been teaching him over the last five years. Even though he had been trained by one of the greatest fighters he had ever known Alan still felt uneasy; what could seven people do against an army of Geth and a Reaper?

0

Even with the use of the Relay network, it still took time for the ship to finally find the Mu Relay, shining in the darkness of space as if luring the ship and its crew into the lion's den. Knowing what they knew about the Relays, none of the _Normandy_ crew felt enthusiastic about using them, and yet there was no other way to reach Ilos and put an end to Saren's plans. That was the beauty of King Ghidorah's greatest trap; it seemed so benign that no-one would ever be suspicious, placating them and making them dependent on that very trap in order for civilisation to survive. It dawned on Alan that this may be the first trap that the demon had ever conceived, and it was without a doubt his most perfect.

In spite of everyone's reservations, the _Normandy_ shot through the Mu Relay and within minutes was approaching the soft autumn-red sphere of Ilos.

"Uh, Commander?" said Joker, sounding worried. "We've got company."

Shepard, Alan, Kaidan, Liara and Tali were all in the cockpit, and Shepard leaned closer to get a good look out of the front window. Hovering in orbit above the planet in tight formations were countless Geth dropships, waiting to shoot at anyone who approached.

"Have their sensors picked us up yet?" asked Liara.

"Stealth systems are engaged," replied Joker. "Unless we get close enough for a visual, they won't have any idea we're here."

With that in mind, Alan had reason to wonder if Geth ships had windows. If they did then they were in serious trouble and the mission ran an even greater risk of coming to an early end.

"Picking up some strange readings from the planet's surface," said Pressly, the ship's navigator, from one of the other consoles in the chamber. He was an older, experienced sailor who had survived the Covenant War.

"Take us down, Joker," said Shepard. "Lock in on the co-ordinates."

"Negative on that, Commander," said Pressly sternly. "The nearest landing zone is two clicks away!"

"We'll never make in time on foot!" Kaidan retorted. "Get us something closer!"

"There is nowhere closer!" Pressly barked. "I've looked!"

"Drop us in the Mako!" Shepard ordered.

"You need at least a hundred meters of open terrain to pull off a drop like that!" said Pressly. "The most I can find near Saren is twenty!"

"Twenty meters?" exclaimed Kaidan. "No way we can make a drop in there!"

"We have to try!" Liara argued.

"Find another landing zone!" ordered Kaidan.

"There is no other landing zone!" Pressly shouted.

"The descent angle's too steep!" Tali chimed in.

"It's our only option," said Liara.

"It's not an option!" Kaidan argued. "It's a suicide run! Don't-"

"I can do it," Joker interrupted firmly.

"Joker?" Shepard asked.

"I can do it," Joker repeated, his face rigid. In spite of his nickname he took his job deathly seriously. Shepard looked at him for a moment, as if mentally evaluating him, and then nodded.

"Only four of us can fit in the Mako," she said, turning to the others. "Kaidan, Alan, Liara, gear up and head down to the cargo bay!" She turned back to Joker. "Drop us right on top of that bastard!"

Kaidan threw up his arms in surrender, clearly feeling that this was an argument he would never win. Alan ran with the others to the cargo bay, and soon all four of them were switching into their combat armour and readying their weapons. The Mako, as it turned out, was an experimental new ground vehicle; a six-wheeled, heavily-armed machine that attempted to combine the manoeuvrability of a Warthog with the firepower of a Scorpion. Soon all four were climbing into the vehicle's cramped cabin and strapping themselves down, Alan sitting in the back next to Liara. The ship shook all around them as it entered the atmosphere of the planet below.

Minutes later, the cargo bay door started to open, and Alan could now see a set of ruins on the sunset-lit ground far below, accelerating towards them. He thought he could see tiny figures moving along a stone walkway into a large structure. He recognised the architecture as being that of the Forerunners, but somehow it looked ancient compared to anything he had seen before. He was also now starting to get very worried when he realised what was about to happen.

"I'm beginning to agree with Kaidan," he said. "This is a really, really shit idea!"

"It'll have to do," said Shepard. "Hang on!"

A mere twenty meters above the temple, the _Normandy_ suddenly lurched backwards, at the same time as Shepard floored the accelerator and sent the Mako flying straight out of the hangar. The figures on the ground dashed into the bunker, and the stone door began to close behind them. Alan actually yelled as the Mako slammed onto the walkway and bounced forward for several meters. The vehicle would never have got through the door in time, and as it slammed shut Shepard hit the brakes, and the Mako came to a screeching halt. Immediately she threw the hatch open and jumped out, Kaidan close behind. Liara followed, but Alan was now so paralysed with shock that it took him longer to come to his senses and follow them. The four of them stood in front of the doorway for a moment, looking around them.

"We've got to get inside this bunker before Saren finds the Conduit!" said Liara. "There is no way we're getting past that door with brute force, though."

"This is all Forerunner architecture, right?" Alan asked, turning to Kaidan. "You're a Technomancer. Can't you screw with it?"

"I can't," said Kaidan. "There aren't any access panels around this door. Saren found a way to open it, though. There must be a security override somewhere else in the complex." They all turned to look behind the Mako, and saw a path leading between the stone columns and into the main area of the ruins. The buildings were overgrown with plant-life. Disconcertingly, the sounds of movement could be heard, getting closer.

"Well, let's not waste any time," said Shepard firmly, drawing her assault rifle from her back. "Move out!"

With that, Shepard led the charge up the path and into the depths of the ruins. A number of Geth drones were cut down by a hail of gunfire as the group progressed into the golden leaf-covered courtyard. The buildings were spectacular to look at, much more regal than any Forerunner structure that Alan had ever seen; this site must have been of great importance to them. There were stone statues in the area that portrayed tall, long-haired humanoids; Alan assumed them to be the Forerunners.

Unfortunately he had no time to stop and admire the view, for the ruins were crawling with Geth. It seemed that no matter how many were cut down by gunfire more of them surfaced. In spite of this all four commandos pushed deeper inside in their own ways. Alan dashed between several, striking each with the blue-white plasma line of his whip. It was situations like this which had been trained for on Sanghelios, and his training was serving him well. Shepard was shown to be a deadly marksman, as every shot that came from her rifle hit straight and true. Liara used her biotics to deadly effect, picking up drones and slamming them into the pillars. He saw that some of the drones seemed to explode from within, as Kaidan used his Omni-Tool to hack and remotely overload their systems, but he knew that the Technomancer could potentially finish any fights on his own. It was as if Kaidan was deliberately holding back.

As they got deeper into the ruins, they found an ancient elevator that was still operational, taking them down into a large underground chamber. The room was as overgrown as the surface, with the large roots from the trees breaking through from the surface. It was also filled with more drones, but there were also four of the armature units that Alan had faced on Therum. As they entered the armatures powered up and turned towards them, and all of them simultaneously began to charge their deadly plasma blasters.

"Get down!" Shepard shouted, and all of them dived for cover behind a fallen stone pillar, plasma fire whipping right over their heads. Quickly peeking over the top of their shelter, Alan saw that the corridor was filled, a narrow space with no other cover to go to and filled by drones, armatures and plasma fire.

"Fat chance of us getting through there!" he said loudly to the others, speaking over the sounds of plasma fire and the Geth's strange electronic chittering.

"Can't you do something, Kaidan?" Liara asked. "You're a Technomancer, right?"

"Yeah," said Kaidan, "but you know I feel about using it! After what happened at Gagarin Station, I swore I'd only use it in dire emergency!"

"I'd say this situation's pretty dire!" shouted Shepard. "Kaidan, you're not the same person you were at Gagarin! You can keep control!"

Kaidan paused for a moment. Alan wondered what it was that had happened to make him so wary of using his powers. He also noticed the look between Shepard and Kaidan. It was one of great trust... even passion. He recognised it as he had shared that same look with someone from his own past in tight situations.

After a few moments Kaidan nodded, putting on a brave face and pulled the glowing cyan Technomantic cords out of the back of his head, the ones that closely resembled Kiryuu's own. As they draped loose, he sprang up from behind the pillar, Shepard covering him with rifle fire. Alan and Liara took this cue to attack and jumped out after them. The cords suddenly stretched of their own accord, attaching themselves to the armatures as if they had a life of their own. As the others dealt with the drones, a blue charge travelled along the cords, causing the armatures to overload and shake violently. After a few seconds they exploded, leaving nothing but scrap metal. As soon as the coast was clear the cords shrank back, binding themselves in a bundle that dangled behind Kaidan's back. That attack had apparently taken a lot out of him, as he collapsed onto one knee. Shepard ran over to room and tenderly helped him to his feet.

"That..." Kaidan breathed, exhausted. "That was a rush."

"Great job, Kaidan!" Shepard exclaimed. She pointed up the corridor, noticing what looked like a small control room a level above them. "You feeling ready to move again?"

"I'll be fine," replied Kaidan. "I just need a couple of minutes to get my head together."

The quartet ran down the corridor, vaulting over the ruined scraps of Geth drones and running up a stone ramp to reach the control room. In the centre of the room, standing in front of windows that looked out over the corridor was a Forerunner terminal. Shepard and Kaidan approached it. As Kaidan did so, the cords suddenly attached themselves to it, plugging him into the machine. Alan had to admit that he was still uncomfortable with the sight.

"This is the security console," he said. "I'm working on opening the door now."

"Hurry!" said Liara. "Saren's already had too great a head-start! We must find him before he reaches the Conduit!"

"Unless he's already found it," said Alan. "Then we're just walking into a trap."

"That should do it," Kaidan suddenly said, as the cords once again retracted.

"Right," nodded Shepard. "Let's get moving!"

As the two humans turned away from the console, however, a flickering orange hologram suddenly came to life. It had to be badly damaged, as it looked to Alan like a series of abstract shapes surrounding a glowing orange core.

"Hold up," Alan said. "I think you touched something you shouldn't have."

It was then that he heard a fuzzy voice, as if it was being spoken through a badly-tuned radio. Alan didn't recognise the language that was spoken. Shepard and Kaidan both turned to face the hologram.

"Must be some kind of message," Alan shrugged. "I can't make head nor tail of it though."

"It's probably in the Forerunner language," said Liara. "This recording must be forty thousand years old. No wonder we can't understand it."

It occurred to Alan that he had never heard the Forerunner language spoken aloud, and he doubted if anyone alive today had. He certainly could not recall Kiryuu or Telek mentioning it; though they had shown him examples of Forerunner scripture, nobody he knew had actually read it aloud.

"The message is all broken up," said Shepard suddenly, "but I recognise some of the words. It's a warning against the Reaper invasion!"

"Of course!" Liara exclaimed, snapping her fingers. "Between the beacons and the Cipher, an understanding of the Forerunner language must have been transferred into your mind!"

"Can you make out anything useful?" Alan asked.

The hologram spoke a few more sentences, broken up by interference. A second voice also spoke after a few seconds, but that message too was badly damaged.

"It said something about the Conduit," said Shepard, "but it's too degraded to help. We should go."

Leaving the control room and returning up the elevator, the team were soon running back across the courtyard. Within minutes they had reached the Mako, and now the door leading inside was open.

"Who votes we take the vehicle into the creepy underground bunker?" asked Liara coyly.

"Good idea," said Kaidan. "The extra firepower will come in handy."

Alan thought he heard a low groan of disapproval from Shepard as they climbed back into the Mako's cabin. Soon the vehicle was racing through the door, and driving down a long ramp that led deeper inside the planet. Alan saw that the ramp was actually getting steeper, spiralling downwards amidst a series of gigantic metal rafters. He felt as if they were travelling straight down through a dark chasm, yet the Mako continued to stick to the road as if glued to it. The girders were lined with small lights and circuitry, and with a start Alan realised where he had seen something like this before.

"A Shield Installation..." Kaidan said, as the Mako continued to spiral downwards towards a faint blue light further down. "Ilos is a Shield Installation!"

"I have spent my life studying the Forerunners," breathed Liara, in awe, "but I never dreamed that I would discover anything like this! This must have been the last refuge of their entire race! Just imagine what mysteries it might hold! Imagine what secrets it might reveal!"

"Hey!" Alan snapped. "Try to remember why we're here! You know; Saren, the Conduit, the fate of the entire known galaxy?"

"I'm sorry," Liara stammered, looking abashed. "I was swept up in the moment. I just hope we have the opportunity to study this place in detail after our work is done."

The journey continued in silence. When they were about two miles below the surface, and as the glow got ever closer, Alan looked around in confusion.

"I would've thought Saren would have set up some kind of trap or ambush for us," he said. "He must have been in too much of a hurry."

"Or we just haven't run into it yet," said Shepard.

After a while, the Mako emerged into a vast chamber, the ramp gently straightening out again as if they had emerged on the other side of the planet. The chamber was well-lit, with sunlight pouring in from above. The chamber was narrow but very tall, with high walls lined with what seemed to be large pods, big enough for a man to fit inside.

"What are all those things on the wall?" Kaidan asked. "Some kind of containment units?"

"They look like stasis pods," said Liara. "The Forerunners may have tried to keep themselves alive through cryogenic freezing. Something must have gone wrong." Her voice dropped and her eyes closed. "This bunker became their tomb. The pods are dead, as well as anyone inside."

"All of them?" Alan asked, bewildered. "There must be hundreds of those pods. What was Saren expecting to find here? There's nothing left but corpses."

The Mako drove on through the chamber. The air was very still, and Alan was now getting a very eerie feeling. The realisation of the stasis pods and their dead occupants troubled him. If the Forerunners had tried to use this place to survive the detonation of the Halos, then it clearly failed horribly. He imagined that any death they faced was slow and painful.

After driving down the length of the chamber, there was a loud humming noise, and a blue energy field suddenly surrounded the Mako on all sides, trapping it in a wide circle.

"Shit!" Alan exclaimed. "This must be Saren's ambush!"

"I don't think this has anything to do with the Geth..." muttered Kaidan.

The group climbed out of the Mako and looked around them. Now that they were getting a better look at the sheer number of de-activated stasis pods, Alan's sense of foreboding grew. At the sound of something moving overhead, Alan looked up, squinting into the sunlight. He saw what looked like a large sphere that was suspended on a metal track on the ceiling. There was a hissing noise as a set of clamps was released, and the sphere lowered itself down, drawing level with the group and hovering before them. It was made of metal and looked at them with a single orange optic. It also looked badly damaged, evidently having being shot recently with noticeable cracks in the metallic casing.

"You are not Forerunner," it said in a deep masculine voice that seemed to echo all around them. "But you are not machine either. I identify two Reclaimers among you. This eventuality was one of many to be anticipated. This was why we sent our warning through the beacons."

"I've heard of these," Alan said, as the appearance and speech of the sphere jolted something in Alan's memory. "I remember Telek describing them. This must be one of those Monitors he was talking about." He folded his arms. "I seem to recall him saying they couldn't be trusted."

"I do not sense the taint of indoctrination upon any of you," the Monitor said. "Unlike the other that passed recently. Perhaps there is still hope."

"This is incredible!" exclaimed Liara, her face lighting up like a child on Christmas morning. "An actual Forerunner Monitor and I can understand it!"

"I have been monitoring your communications since you arrived at this facility," said the Monitor. "I have translated my output into a format you will comprehend. My designation is 125 Vigil, an advanced non-organic surveillance system with personality imprints from Keisad Ishan, chief overseer of the Ilos Research Facility. You are safe here for the moment, but that is likely to change. Soon nowhere will be safe."

"Why have you stopped us here?" Shepard asked, peering anxiously at the other end of the chamber. "We've got to get after Saren!"

"My Sentinels are distracting Saren and his machine soldiers," said Vigil. "It will be some time before they can break through them. You must break a cycle that has continued for countless millennia, but to stop it you must understand, or you will make the same mistakes we did. The Citadel is the heart of your civilisation and your seat of government, as it was with us and as it has been with every civilisation that came before us."

"We know that it's a trap," Alan cut in. "One of our people has seen into the Array. We know that the Citadel's a Mass Relay that links to dark space and brings the Reapers here. If you were gonna tell us that, save your electronic breath."

"What I want to know is how come nobody ever noticed that the Citadel is an inactive Mass Relay before," said Kaidan.

"The Reapers are careful to keep the greatest secrets of the Citadel hidden," replied Vigil. "That is why they created a species of seemingly-benign organic caretakers. The Keepers maintain the station's most basic functions. They enable any species that discovers the Citadel to use it without fully understanding the technology. Reliance on the Keepers ensures that no other species will discover the Citadel's true nature, not until the Relay is activated and the Reapers invade."

"How do the Reapers survive out in dark space?" asked Shepard.

"We have only theories," said Vigil. "The researchers here proclaimed that the Reapers enter a state of prolonged hibernation to conserve energy. This allows them to survive the thousands and thousands of years it takes for organic civilisation to rebuild itself, but in this state they are vulnerable. By retreating beyond the edges of the galaxy, they ensure that no-one will accidentally discover them. They keep their existence hidden until the Citadel Relay is activated. Through this they can seize control of the Citadel, and through it the Mass Relays. This happened during our reign. Communications and transportation across our empire were crippled. Each star system was isolated, cut off from the others. If it had not been for our weaponry we would have been easy prey for the Reaper fleets. Over the next decades, we fought in a war against the Reapers as they sought to systematically exterminate our people, world by world, system by system. They sought to methodically wipe us out.

"The genocide of an entire species is a long, slow process. It became clear that we were fighting a losing battle, with no offer of surrender given. Our enemy only sought the extinction of all advanced organic life. Through the Citadel the Reapers had access to all of our databases, maps and census data. Information is power, and the Reapers used that against us. Their fleets advanced across every settled region of the galaxy. Some worlds were utterly destroyed, others were conquered, their populations enslaved. These indoctrinated servants became sleeper agents under Reaper control. Taken in as refugees by other Forerunners, they betrayed them to the machines.

"Eventually our scientists discovered the progenitor of the Reapers, the golden hydra demon. We tried to create a biological weapon that could be used against it, but the sleeper agents modified our weapon, turning it against us, and creating the Flood. This virus became a new weapon that the hydra could use against us, and we found ourselves facing a war on two fronts, to the Reapers and to the Flood. Decades of war followed, and we lost many of our people to both of these deadly forces. In the end, we were forced to try to contain the Flood by activating the Fortress Worlds. Though all life was destroyed and the Flood was deprived of bodies to consume, the damage had already been done by the Reapers, whose inorganic nature spared them from the ravages of the sterilisation. All organic life had been destroyed within a few centuries. When they were certain that all organic life had been extinguished, the Reapers used the Citadel Relay to retreat back into dark space, sealing it behind them. All evidence of the Reaper invasion had been wiped away. The genocide of the Forerunners was complete."

"So that's what happened..." said Liara. "I can't believe I'm hearing this!"

"And to think you deprived yourselves of your only chances of survival!" Alan shouted angrily. "We know what you did to the human race, only because you were jealous and had bruised egos! Humans had a cure for the Flood, yet you destroyed it! They may even have found a way to send the Reapers back where they came from! Frankly, you deserved everything you got!"

"I have had a great amount of time to reflect on our decision to de-evolve the human race," said Vigil, in a tone of what sounded like regret. "Our arrogance proved to be our undoing, and you are right to call us out on it. We sought the gift of the Array that had been handed down to the humans by the Precursors, but now I see why it was given to the humans. The Reapers and the Flood ensured that we paid the price for our arrogance."

"What does King Ghidorah – the hydra - get out of this?" asked Shepard. "Why does he keep repeating this pattern of genocide over and over?"

"The hydra is from a realm that is alien and unknowable," said Vigil. "Perhaps he needs slaves or resources. More likely he and his spawn have motivations and goals far beyond the understanding of any mortal mind. In the end, what does it matter? Your survival depends on stopping them, not in understanding them."

"I don't understand," said Kaidan. "We've seen Monitors before. How come none of them mentioned this?"

"After the sterilisation," said Vigil, "our Monitors prioritised the containment of the Flood above all else. With the Reapers now retreated, the Flood was determined to be the more immediate threat. Over time, it is likely that the absence of the Reapers made the Monitors deem it not important enough to remember. The prevention of the Flood spread became an obsession, and they lost sight of the threat of the Reapers' return."

"They were wrong," said Shepard firmly. "The Reaper threat is all too real. Tell us what we need to do. There has to be a reason you stopped us."

"The Conduit is the key," said Vigil. "Before the Reapers attacked, we Forerunners were on the cusp of unlocking the secrets behind Mass Relay technology. Ilos was a top-secret facility. Here researchers worked to create a small-scale version of a Mass Relay; one that linked directly to the Citadel, the hub of the Relay Network."

"The Conduit's not a weapon..." Kaidan breathed. "It's a back door onto the Citadel!"

"How did you manage to stay hidden?" asked Liara.

"All records of the project were destroyed in the initial attack on the Citadel," said Vigil. "We even destroyed the file that was located in the Array. While the Forerunner Empire came crashing down, Ilos was spared. We severed all communication with the outside, and our facility went dark. The personnel retreated into the Shield Installation. To conserve resources, everyone was put into slip-space stasis. I was programmed to monitor the facility, and awaken the staff when the danger had passed.

"But as I mentioned the Reapers persisted over the centuries, and my energy reserves were dwindling. I began to disable the life-support of non-essential personnel. First support staff, then security. One by one their pods were shut down to conserve energy. Eventually only the stasis pods of the top scientists remained active. Even these were in danger of failing when the Halos were activated and the Reapers retreated back through the Citadel Relay."

"There are hundreds of stasis pods here!" said Liara incredulously. "You just shut them down and killed them?"

"You were programmed to protect them, not kill them!" Shepard barked angrily.

"This outcome was not completely unforeseen," said Vigil, maintaining the same cold, logical tone. "My actions were a result of contingency programming entered on my creation."

"I bet they didn't tell the non-essential staff about this contingency," muttered Alan.

"I saved key personnel," Vigil retorted. "When the Reapers retreated, the top researchers were still alive. My actions are the only reason any hope remains. When the researchers woke they realised the Forerunner species was doomed. There were only a few dozen individuals left; far too few to sustain a viable population. Yet they vowed to find some way to stop the Reapers from returning; a way to break the cycle forever, and they knew the Keepers were the key."

"I still don't understand what's going on here," said Shepard. "Why is Saren trying to find the Conduit?"

"The Conduit gives him access to the Citadel and the Keepers," said Vigil. "The Keepers are controlled by the Citadel. Before each invasion, a signal is sent to the station compelling the Keepers to activate the Citadel Relay. After decades of feverish study, the scientists discovered a way to alter this signal. Using the Conduit, they gained access to the Citadel and made the modifications. This time, when Sovereign sent the signal to the Citadel the Keepers ignored it. The Reapers are trapped in dark space."

"Saren can use the Conduit to bypass the Citadel's external defences!" said Shepard, the light of understanding dawning in her eyes.

"Correct," said Vigil. "And once inside he can gain access to the Citadel's control systems. Sovereign can override the systems and manually open the relay, and the Cycle of Extinction will begin again."

"Is there any way we can stop them?" asked Alan.

"I can supply you with a data file," said Vigil. "Take a copy when you go. When you reach the Citadel's master control unit upload the data to the Citadel. It will corrupt the security protocols and give you total control of the station. It might give you a chance against Sovereign."

"Wait..." said Kaidan. "Where's the Citadel's master control unit? I've never heard of anything like that."

"Through the Conduit," said Vigil. "Follow Saren. He will lead you to your destination."

"Wait a moment," said Liara. "This is our best chance at getting the evidence the Council needs! We must get as much information as we can!"

"After all that polava they've put us through?" asked Alan scornfully. "You really think it's worth the hassle?"

"They wouldn't deny the word of a Forerunner Monitor, would they?" asked Kaidan.

"Stranger things have happened," said Shepard bitterly.

"In any case, who knows how much longer Vigil will be here?" Liara pressed. "He has already been attacked, and he looks weak. We can't lose this opportunity to make such an important connection with the knowledge of the Forerunners!"

"Saren has not yet reached the Conduit," said Vigil. "He and his Geth are still occupied by the Sentinels. I can record all of our conversation onto the data card I will give you. That should give you all of the evidence you need to convince others of the truth of this matter. If you have any further questions, this is your last chance."

"Okay then, answer me this," said Alan. "If the Reapers are in dark space, how did Sovereign get here?"

"It is logical to assume the Reapers would leave one of their own behind after each extinction," said Vigil. "This would be a sentinel to pave the way for their inevitable return. Like those in dark space, Sovereign had probably spent most of the last forty thousand years in a state of hibernation. Periodically, it would wake to analyse the situation. Keeping its existence hidden, it would evaluate the state of galactic civilisation, and when the time was right it would signal the Citadel and usher in the next Reaper invasion. But this time the signal failed. The Keepers did not respond. Sovereign's allies were trapped in the void. Alone, it was forced to try and discover what had gone wrong."

"But Sovereign's more powerful than any ship in the galaxy," said Alan. "Why all the secrecy? Why not just attack the Citadel?"

"Sovereign is not invincible," said Vigil. "Revealing its existence would have united the forces of every organic species against it. Even a Reaper couldn't survive such odds. But the Reapers are patient; they will not rush into the unknown. Sovereign could have been planning this for centuries, moving deliberately, gathering allies. Slowly, it has assembled the pieces of the puzzle, working through agents to keep itself hidden. Saren is the most visible pawn of the hydra, but I doubt he was the first. Now Sovereign has grown bold; whether from confidence or desperation, I cannot say. But it is determined to re-open the portal to dark space."

"What about the beacon on Eden Prime, and the one on Virmire?" asked Kaidan. "What were they for?"

"At our apex," said Vigil, "the beacons spanned the breadth of our empire. We used them as a single galaxy-wide network, to transmit communications rapidly from world to world. Virtually all of the beacons were destroyed in the invasion, but once the Reapers were gone the survivors here on Ilos decided to risk sending out a message. We knew it was unlikely there were other survivors, but if there were we wanted them to know about Ilos. We wanted to give them hope, so a message was sent across the network."

"You could have exposed yourselves to the Reapers!" said Kaidan.

"In truth, we didn't expect any of the beacons would still function," said Vigil. "But we had to try. If there were survivors we had to reach them. The message was meant for our own people. It was coded so only organic beings could interpret it. We still didn't understand the power of Reaper indoctrination. We never realised it could lead an agent of the hydra, like Saren, to this world. But it has also led you here, so perhaps we did not fail after all."

"So when the Reapers created the Citadel, they created the Keepers as well?" asked Shepard.

"A more likely scenario is that the Keepers were one of the earliest harvested civilisations," said Vigil. "Perhaps they were the very first. Perhaps they responded well to indoctrination, or the Reapers simply bred them to be obedient. In any case, they were left behind to operate and maintain the Citadel. But the Keepers are no longer directly controlled by Sovereign or its ilk. They evolved so that they only respond to the signals emitted by the Citadel itself. When the Forerunners altered the Citadel's signals, they broke Sovereign's hold over the Keepers. Now they are completely harmless."

"Sovereign must have realised organic races were difficult to control," said Shepard.

"A likely hypothesis," said Vigil. "The Keepers evolved in an unanticipated direction. Non-organic servants like the Geth would be more predictable."

"What happened to the survivors of the Conduit project?" asked Liara.

"They used the Conduit to gain access to the Citadel," said Vigil. "But the Conduit is only a prototype. The portal only links in one direction, so they were trapped on the station. I do not know what became of them then. It is unlikely that they found any water or food on the station. I fear they suffered a slow, grim death. I only know they succeeded in their mission to seal the relay. Your presence here proves their sacrifice was not in vain."

"I think we've heard enough," said Shepard. "I only hope the Council will pay attention to all of this, assuming they survive." She turned to the others. "Saren's had enough of a head-start. Grab that data file and let's go!"

"You'd better be straight with us," Alan snarled as he approached Vigil. "Otherwise I'll come back here and poke a few more holes into you!"

"The Forerunners had hoped to avoid such ill-feeling for their mistake," said Vigil. "I give you my word that this data will prove the existence of the Reapers and the Cycle of Extinction." A small data chip came out of a slot underneath the optic, which Alan grabbed and handed over to Shepard. "The Conduit is now being activated, but there is still hope if you hurry."

With that, Vigil hovered away from them, clamping itself back onto the track above them. As it did so, the force-field lifted.

"All their culture..." sighed Liara. "All their technology, and the Forerunners were taken in by the Reapers just as we were. They failed."

"They didn't," said Kaidan, firmly. "We've just been given a chance to finish what they started. Let's not waste it."

"Just one thing," Alan chimed in. "The relays need eezo to operate. Does the Mako use any?"

"It does in the mass accelerators used in the cannons," said Shepard. "Let's hope that counts. The implants that Saren received from Sovereign may allow him passage."

The four of them climbed back into the Mako, and Shepard floored the accelerator, leading the Mako out of the opposite side of the facility. All of a sudden they emerged into the interior of the Dyson Sphere. An entire world was built into the insides of the planet, with whole continents and oceans stretching above them and all around them, as if someone had turned the Earth inside-out. A small sun could be seen, burning brightly in the very centre of the sphere. The structure they had emerged from was located right in front of a large pedestal, on top of which was an active Mass Relay, one that was smaller in size to any other relay.

"So this is what the vision meant!" said Kaidan. "That must be the Conduit!"

"It's incredible!" said Liara.

"We don't have time to admire the view!" shouted Alan. "We've got to get through the relay, and those Geth aren't gonna make it easy for us!" He pointed at several enormous Geth armatures dotted around the base of the Conduit, which were already advancing on them, charging up their blasters. At the feet of the armatures were piles of wreckage, presumably belonging to the Forerunner Sentinels and Enforcers.

"Hang on!" shouted Shepard as she floored the accelerator. "It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"

The Mako charged towards the Relay, bouncing off the rough ground and being rocked from all sides by blaster fire. Alarms began to sound in the cabin as the shields on the Mako were whittled away to nothing. As the vehicle approached the Conduit, it was bathed in a glow of Element Zero, and was blasted at incredible speeds towards the Citadel. As it did so, Alan held on for dear life, hoping and praying that they were not too late.


	12. The Battle of the Citadel

**The Battle of the Citadel**

"You're making this more difficult than it needs to be, President Mendoza!" said Tevos firmly.

Moments after the news of Kiryuu's escape had spread, the Council had been fielding various reports from angry individuals in Council Space. They were furious enough when an AI had been permitted to act as an ambassador five years ago, in spite of the restrictions that the Council had placed on it. Now knowing the full extent of that AI's powers, they wanted to know what the Council planned to do to snare this potential threat to the stability of their systems. Everyone was scared stiff of this new artificial intelligence, and many were angry at Earth for having developed something that threatened the stability of the galaxy. Others were angrier still that the Council had allowed things to escalate to this point, demanding to know why they had not taken more extreme measures to control this rampant AI.

Now they were debating the matter with President Mendoza of Earth, who was quite the opposite. He wasn't angry because of Kiryuu's abilities; he was angry that the Council had never taken him seriously. Mendoza looked livid in the holographic display, and he was clearly in no mood to show the Council any ounce of respect.

"You and your ambassador have been keeping secrets from the Council!" shouted Valern angrily. "Not just your ambassador's capabilities, but also the Forerunner ability known as Technomancy and the Spartan program! How could you claim to wish to co-operate with the galactic community and yet keep such despicable secrets from us? You cannot have it both ways!"

"_Have you got cotton in your ears?"_ argued Mendoza, looking frustrated. _"I told you already that we knew we were already on thin enough ice with you all when we appointed Kiryuu Knight as our ambassador. Donnel Udina is a traitor in my book because we all agreed that outing such classified information to you was something that should never happen, not until we could trust you not to turn against Kiryuu or humanity. Now that I've heard of your reaction to the truth, filing a warrant for Knight's arrest, then I'm more convinced than ever we did the right thing!"_

"Be that as it may," said Tevos firmly, "this doesn't change the fact that Knight sought to spread panic about the Mass Relays. AI or not, he is clearly mentally unstable, spreading nonsense about the Relays being Reaper technology! We cannot begin to imagine what such mental instability can do when his abilites are taken into account!"

"_And you didn't believe him?"_ argued Mendoza, incredulous. _"Are you fucking insane? Kiryuu's a Technomantic Master, one of only three Masters we have left! He has total access to the Array. If he says there's something evil about the Relays, you'd damn well better believe him and take whatever steps are necessary to safeguard your races. Now that we know this, we'll be posting extra ships near the Charon Relay as well. The last thing we want is another invasion of Earth. The only question I have for Kiryuu is why he didn't tell me sooner!"_

"It was not just Knight either!" Ikram suddenly cut in. "The one you call Malcho was his co-conspirator in this lie, and both of them succeeded in drawing others into their web of deception! It makes us wonder how fragile the minds of your human soldiers must be if Commander Shepard swallowed such delusions wholeheartedly!"

"_Shepard's right to trust them!"_ Mendoza argued. _"Malcho is also one of our Masters. If he and Kiryuu are working together to find out what they can about the Relays, then there is no doubt that something bad is going to happen. They weren't conspiring against you! They were trying to help you!"_

"Don't get self-righteous with us, Mendoza!" Valern barked. "We will not renege on our decision to have Kiryuu Knight arrested!"

"_Well, that's too bad,"_ said Mendoza. _"I'm prepared to send an army of Technomancers onto the Citadel if Knight isn't returned to Earth unharmed. I've also got some friends in the Sangheili that would love to shove a photon torpedo up your asses as well."_

"This Council does not respond idly to threats!" Valern shouted. "Any action taken against the Citadel is an act of war!"

As Mendoza made to reply, however, his hologram began to flicker, and within seconds vanished. It was not only the hologram that was malfunctioning; all of the control consoles in the room were flashing and switching themselves off. Even the lights went out. Alarms could be heard sounding all over the station, and the faint thud of explosions could be heard from some distance away. An Asari C-Sec officer rushed over to them, looking exhausted and worried out of her mind.

"Councillors!" she gasped. "The Citadel is under attack! A massive Geth fleet just emerged from the Widow Relay, with Saren's flagship! The firepower of this fleet is immense! The blockade will not stand for long; a number of our ships have been torn to pieces! We can't make a dent in the flagship; it's as if we're shooting blanks! At the speed it's advancing, it won't be long before the fleet reaches the Citadel itself!"

"Activate the defences!" shouted Valern. "Seal the station!"

"We tried that!" said the commando. "The arms aren't responding! All systems are dead! We tried to contact Citadel Control, but they're not responding! A large army of Geth has already boarded the station!"

"That's impossible!" exclaimed Ikram. "How could they possibly have boarded when the fleet has only just arrived? It defies all logic!"

"I don't know how, but our security forces were caught completely by surprise!" said the officer. "We're trying to organise our defences and evacuate as many as we can! I've been ordered to get you all to the shuttle heading for the _Destiny Ascension_!"

"Save your energy and get back to the defence of the Presidium," a deep voice suddenly said from behind the Council. "I will get the Council to safety."

All of the Council looked around in shock, to find Kiryuu Knight standing there, his arms folded and his eyes narrowed. Valern advanced upon him, his expression full of indignant anger.

"You have the audacity to show your face now, Knight?" he barked. "There is a warrant out for your arrest! If I had my way, I would put a bullet through your AI Core this very instant!"

"It is nice to know that you still have your priorities straight in the midst of an invasion," replied Kiryuu sarcastically, refusing to be bullied by the blustering Turian. "If I wanted to harm the Council, I would have scattered your atoms to the opposite ends of the galaxy by now. I can get you to the _Destiny Ascension_, but we have to move quickly. There is more that I have to say, but we're running out of time." He stretched out his arms and opened his claws. "I know how silly this sounds, but I need for us all to join hands. It's the only way I can take others with me."

"And we are supposed to trust you with this?" asked Ikram dubiously. "What's to stop you from dumping us in the middle of the nebula?"

"Oh, for crying out loud..." snarled Kiryuu. The gaze in his eyes became more intense, and all of a sudden the three Councillors were dragged towards Kiryuu as if pulled by invisible ropes. As the protesting aliens approached, Kiryuu grabbed their hands and all four suddenly vanished from the chamber, the C-Sec officer's eyes wide. She had been so paralysed with shock that it hadn't occurred to her to try to arrest Knight, and after what she had seen she didn't fancy her chances if she had tried.

A split-second later, Kiryuu and the Council suddenly appeared on the bridge of the _Destiny Ascension_. As soon as they arrived Kiryuu pulled the Technomantic cords out and sent them towards the control panels on the doors, closing them and shorting them out. The Asari pilots spun round in their chairs and stood, shell-shocked, as the cords went whipping right into Kiryuu's arms. The three Councillors were all in various states of shock; indeed, Valern looked as if he was about to be sick. Kiryuu peered over at the two pilots, his eyes narrowed.

"Well don't just stand there gawking!" he barked. "Get the ship as far away from this warzone as possible!"

It took a few seconds for the pilots to realise what had been said, but they managed to sit themselves back down and take the helm once again. The holographic displays showed the struggling blockade, as several Turian frigates were blasted apart by the Geth ships, the immense form of Sovereign cutting through them as if they were made out of tissue paper. The very sight of it sent chills down Kiryuu's spine, and for a moment he thought he heard a voice in the back of his mind. Around him the Councillors were beginning to come to their senses.

"What the..." Valern gasped. "What the hell did you just do?"

"You're welcome," Kiryuu said sardonically. "I have no idea why I am doing this after all that you have done to me. Perhaps it's because I'm the bigger being here and I want to show just how bigger than you I am."

"Why you insolent-" Valern started to yell, but he was suddenly cut off mid-sentence and frozen in place, his mouth hanging open and a blue field surrounding him. Kiryuu had used his abilities to place a small stasis field around the Councillor. Tevos and Ikram looked shocked between the frozen Valern and Kiryuu, who turned to face Tevos.

"That's enough out of him for now," said Kiryuu. "Before I leave I have a parting gift for you, Councillor Tevos. This may be the last chance I will have to give it."

"A gift?" asked Tevos, nervously. "What are you talking about?"

"The truth," said Kiryuu simply. Without warning his cords shot out and attached themselves to either side of Tevos' head. Sudden ripples of energy shot along the cords into her head, and the Councillor let out a yell of anguish, her eyes suddenly turning black. This was the tell-tale sign of when an Asari was using their psychic abilities to their full extent. Ikram watched in horror as Tevos' body trembled and she continued to cry out. After a few seconds the cords retracted, and Tevos collapsed to the floor, shaking, her restored eyes wide with unspeakable terror.

"What have you done to her, Knight?" yelled Ikram, pointing his finger accusingly.

"I have shown her the truth," said Kiryuu as the cords retracted back under his dreadlocks. "I performed a Technomantic skill known as a Forced Connection. She has now seen into the depths of the Array, witnessing the extinction of the Forerunners and countless other civilisations before them as if she was actually there. It was the only way I could think of to prove that the Reapers exist, and that a new Cycle will be complete if we do not act now." He walked over to the trembling Tevos and pulled her to her feet, peering intently into her eyes. She was in such a state of shock that she could not resist.

"Now that you know the truth," he said, "the others may not believe you and it is up to you whether you choose to tell them. This is why I kept it all a secret. You wouldn't have believed me if I told you. Unless we activated the Citadel Relay, no-one would have believed that it was a death-trap. But doing so would bring the Reapers down upon us. Now you understand my problem. Telling you would have done no good." As he looked back at the monitor displays, he saw that the great arms of the Citadel were beginning to close, and Sovereign was racing towards the station at incredible speed. Confused transmissions from the surviving frigates gave orders not to let the ship past them, but it was clear that they would not succeed. At the same time hammering sounds could be heard outside the bridge.

"Now if you will excuse me," Kiryuu said to the shell-shocked Tevos and Ikram, "I have a Reaper to fight."

He suddenly vanished. As soon as he did so the stasis field on Valern lifted.

"Arrogant ma..." he shouted, but soon tailed off when he realised that Kiryuu was no longer there. He looked at the other two, utterly confused.

"What just happened?" he asked. "Where did he go?"

"I..." Tevos stammered, still wide-eyed as if she had witnessed a particularly depraved act. "You had better sit down. There is a great deal that I need to tell you."

0

The arms of the great O'Neill cylinder had slowly closed, without warning, trapping the defending fleets outside. In spite of their best efforts Sovereign and several Geth ships had managed to get inside. The mass effect fields in the Wards were still active, so the station still had air and gravity, but those who had not been able to evacuate in time now faced the prospect of armies of invading Geth.

There was a small garrison of C-Sec officers around the Zakera Ward hospital, stationed there to protect those who were too sick to evacuate. José and Dorva were among their ranks, and they witnessed the enormous Reaper move slowly overhead. It stretched out its great arms and clamped itself tightly onto the top of the Citadel Tower, like a parasite clinging to a new host. All around them was a loud humming sound, one that seemed to be going into their ears and starting to dig away at the back of their eyes.

"Caramba..." José breathed.

"How are we supposed to fight something like that?" Dorva asked in disbelief.

"Ain't our job, puto," said José. "It's up to the Captain and that Shepard chick." Peering away from the sight of Sovereign on the tower, he became tense and alert and pointed at a wave of three Geth dropships heading right towards them.A number of energy bursts shot out of the bottom of the ships, dropping a veritable swarm of Geth drones which immediately advanced upon them, their plasma weapons firing. The defenders dived for cover behind their makeshift barricades and returned fire, but it was like trying to turn back the tide itself.

As José sprayed bullets into the oncoming waves of Geth like a man possessed, he almost didn't notice that someone was trying to contact him on his commlink. He ducked behind the barricade to answer.

"_José!"_ said Call on the other end. She and Bishop were inside the hospital, keeping an eye on Alistair.

"Now's not a good time, spark-plug!" shouted José over the gunfire.

"_I realise that, but we have two problems here!"_ replied Call urgently. _"First, we've just heard from the doctors. Rachel's going into labour!"_

"Oh shit..." José breathed. He knew that Rachel's baby was due any day this week; the last thing he had expected or wanted was that it would arrive now in the middle of a warzone.

"_The second problem is that Alistair's waking up!"_ Call continued. _"I tried to get them to move him to a secure room, but they wouldn't listen!"_ There was a pause, where José strained his ears to hear Call's breathing above the sounds of gunfire. _"His eyes are opening... Oh no... Not those red eyes... Not-"_

All of a sudden she was cut off. Without realising it José stood bolt upright, putting him in the line of fire.

"Call!" he shouted. "Call! What the hell-"

"Get down!" Dorva shouted. He had noticed José's distracted behaviour even as he had tried to shoot the advancing drones with plasma fire. All of a sudden he had to tackle José as shots were fired right in his direction. The bolts shot through Dorva's shielding, wounding his shoulder. He grunted and collapsed as José struggled to pull himself out from underneath the black-armoured Sangheili.

"I suppose I should be thankful!" shouted José, sounding quite the opposite.

"What was that all about?" Dorva shouted over the gunfire. "We cannot to be distracted now! What's wrong?"

"Why the fuck do you care?" shouted José, pulling himself up to his knees behind the barricade. "Don't try to be my fucking buddy!"

"José, this is neither the time nor the place!" Dorva bellowed, frustrated. "There are more important matters at hand than our history! Now what the hell's going on? It had to have been urgent to make you so worried!"

"Alright, fine!" José barked irritably. "Call told me that Alistair's wakin' up just before I lost contact with her! Rachel's gone into labour too! There ain't no tellin' what's gonna happen with Alistair loose!"

"Then what are you still here for?" barked Dorva. "Get in there and do what you have to!"

"But the barricade!" José shouted.

"We can manage!" shouted Dorva. "Now go!"

José paused, torn for a moment. On the one hand he was sure that the defenders would need an extra gun, but on the other hand he knew that he couldn't leave his wife in peril. In the end, he nodded, and without another word he dashed back towards the hospital, keeping his head low to avoid the plasma bolts shooting past him. Dorva watched him go for a moment, then turned back to face the attacking Geth with his plasma rifles drawn.

"Suppressing fire!" he shouted to the commandos and C-Sec officers. "Don't let any of them through!"

As he fired back into the crowd of advancing Geth, cutting down several drones in a row, Dorva began to feel the old thrill of battle coming back to him. He had spent so long on the run that to finally feel needed, to feel as if he had a purpose once again, was liberating.

0

"_Are you insane, muchacho?"_ Malcho exclaimed. Kiryuu had returned to the sanctuary of the hotel room and had explained what he had done to Malcho, whose jaw was now hanging open in utter disbelief. _"After all the crap that they've put you through, you still had to play the hero?"_

"I was showing that I am better than them," Kiryuu retorted. "I did it purely for selfish reasons. Regardless of the outcome of this battle, this is the last time that they should expect any help from me. They may have time to reflect on their mistakes; they may not. It does not matter to me anymore."

Malcho just shook his head. He trusted Kiryuu implicitly, but he could not help but feel frustrated whenever the mecha acted like this.

"_Well, we can always hope that the Geth blow their fancy ship apart,"_ he said. He peered out of the window at the closed arms, and the sight of Sovereign clamping itself onto the Citadel Tower began to fill him with an un-nameable dread. _"So how do you plan to bring down this Reaper?"_

"I want to check C-Sec first," said Kiryuu. "I want to make sure Captain Anderson is alright. I owe it to him to make sure he survives this battle; after all, he made the _Normandy_'s escape possible. It's because of him that Shepard still has a chance to stop Saren."

"_I'll go with you,"_ said Malcho. _"I want to give C-Sec a piece of my mind after their officers fired on me in my hotel room."_

Seconds later, both had teleported in the midst of the C-Sec holding cells. The place looked like any other prison block on Earth; a long corridor lined by rows of cells sealed by inactive-looking force-fields, now flooded by the red glow of the emergency lighting. It seemed safe to assume that the holding cells had lost power, and all of the inmates were now either dead or missing. C-Sec had managed to create a barricade partway down the corridor and had fortified themselves, with the wounded being tended to in empty cells. Several officers were already shooting at another wave of Geth drones that had taken cover in the open cells farther down, their flashlight heads shining in the semi-darkness.

As Kiryuu and Malcho spun round to get their bearings, ducking to avoid the plasma fire, there was a shout from one of the cells; one of the officers had seen them appear. A Turian at the barricade stopped firing for a moment to look back, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the new arrivals. Checking to make sure the others could manage without him, he marched over to them, his shock rapidly giving way to anger.

"You've got a lotta nerve showing your face around here, construct!" he barked. "If we weren't in the middle of a situation here, I'd have you shot on sight!" He turned an equally stern glare to Malcho. "And what the hell are you supposed to be? Another god-damn freak of nature from Earth?"

Malcho looked as if he was about to devour the Turian there and then, when a bold and commanding voice suddenly spoke up from behind Kiryuu:

"Not a smart move, Chellick. Malcho here is one of our last Technomantic Masters. One snap of his fingers and he could easily turn you into a cockroach, and that's the least of what he can do to anyone who angers him. Needless to say he's got a short fuse, so I'd watch what you say around him; he might decide to save Saren the trouble and tear this whole Citadel down."

Kiryuu turned to see Captain Anderson stood in the hall, now in casual clothing as opposed to his dress uniform. He was looking at the Turian known as Chellick with the same sort of look that Telek used when in 'command mode'; he looked grim, determined, even rather frightening. Kiryuu began to see why Anderson had been pushed to become a Spectre, and where Shepard got her own strength from.

"You are damn lucky that I've got bigger things to worry about than a smart mouth," Chellick said huffily. "You Earthlings are like... what's that human expression... 'peas in a pod'."

"I hope C-Sec weren't too rough with you, Captain," said Kiryuu, sounding more amused than ever. "We all heard about what happened in the Alliance embassy."

"It had to be done, Ambassador," said Anderson, making Kiryuu smile slightly that others still called him by that title. "Shepard had to get after Saren, and there was no time for subtlety. Besides, Udina made it personal."

"Talking of which," said Kiryuu, frowning. "Where is that little weasel? I want a word with him."

"He's over in that cell," replied Anderson, jerking his thumb at one of the cells behind him. "He was already down here giving me a lecture when the Geth attacked."

Immediately Kiryuu pushed past Anderson and entered the cell he had indicated. Immediately he found Udina, sat on the low bunk, sporting a large bruise on his left cheek. As Kiryuu entered, he stood bolt upright, his brow creasing in anger.

"Knight!" he snarled. "What do you think you're-"

He never got to finish his sentence, as Kiryuu marched straight towards him and swung his fist straight at Udina's face. Udina was struck and sent reeling into the back wall, where he crumpled to the floor, nursing his new injury.

"I couldn't pass by without giving your new bruise a partner," said Kiryuu coldly. "I might not get another chance."

"You tin-plated son of a bitch!" Udina snarled, as he staggered to his feet. "I'll see you court-marshalled for this!"

"You can try, little man," Kiryuu shrugged. "I highly doubt you'll find any judge on Earth willing to back you up, though."

Kiryuu left the cell as calmly as he had entered, as Malcho burst out laughing. Chellick looked as if he wanted to try to arrest Kiryuu for assault, but he was distracted as behind them the gunfire sounded again as the Geth resumed their assault. Chellick dashed to the barricade to assist his fellow officers, the others joining him.

"So what's the situation here?" Kiryuu barked "Can you hold out?"

"Not that I know why you care," replied Chellick, "but we're holding here. We've managed to bring the Geth into this choke-point, forcin' 'em to meet us head-on. If we'd tried to hold the main floor of C-Sec, we would've been wiped out. It's too vulnerable with entrances from the Presidium, the hangar bays and the Wards. If somethin' doesn't happen soon though, we'll run out of ammo and medical supplies."

"How did the Geth get onto the Citadel?" asked Kiryuu. "I heard something about them arriving before Sovereign did."

"Hell if I know," Chellick shrugged. "We do know that the Geth have blocked all entrances to the Citadel Tower from the Presidium; they smashed all the bridges over the lake and blocked the land-side path with rubble. No-one's getting to the tower in a hurry. Not that any of that matters though, since the Geth have us pinned down here. Some of my officers talked about seeing a blue glow over by the tower, but it's not like we can get back up to the Presidium to check."

Kiryuu looked thoughtful, scratching his chin. An odd idea had suddenly formed in his head, but if he was right it would go some way to explaining how Saren had pulled off this surprise attack.

"Anderson," Kiryuu called, "remain here and help organise the defenders! Try to push the Geth back, if you can!"

"Yes, sir," nodded Anderson. "I can still shoot a gun, at least."

"Right now, I'm in no position to turn down an extra gun," grunted Chellick.

"Malcho, I want you to remain also," said Kiryuu firmly. "There's something I want to check, but I need you here!"

"_These putos need all the help they can get,"_ snarled Malcho. _"Why leave me with them, though? You'll need my help to fight back Sovereign!"_

"If anything happens to me, Malcho," said Kiryuu, "I know that you're the only one who can carry on where I left off. I need you to be ready to back me up!"

Malcho shook his head. He still could not help but wonder if Kiryuu still had a glory-seeking streak within him, and he was afraid that his friend would not be able to fight back Sovereign on his own. In the end, however, he resigned himself to the fact that this was one argument he would never win.

"_If anything happens, amigo,"_ he said firmly. _"Anything at all..."_

"I'll get the word to you somehow," replied Kiryuu. "Now I'd better get going. I fear that we have already run out of time."

Malcho nodded, and began to reinforce the defences with force-fields of his own making. The sounds of Anderson and Chellick shouting orders to the defenders began to fill Kiryuu's ears as he teleported away from the area. A second later he appeared outside the Citadel Tower. The Presidium was dark, lit only by fires that had broken out during the invasion. A faulty tourist terminal stood close to him, the Asari hologram waving about erratically as if it was having an epileptic seizure. Disconcertingly there were several Hydra's Teeth in the area, but the bodies of the husks they had created had been scattered all over the platform. The area was completely deserted, save for the sounds of the alarms and gunfire coming from over a large pile of rubble. The platform was blocked off by both rubble and the bridges over the lake being smashed, and there was no way to get to the area by swimming.

The very first thing Kiryuu saw was the Relay Monument, a small-scale version of a Mass Relay that had been thought to be merely an interesting sculpture. Now there was a vivid blue-white glow coming from the centre of the monument, the metal rings spinning around it like any other Mass Relay. As Kiryuu saw this and thought back to the damaged image from the Array, he suddenly realised the truth. The 'monument' wasn't a monument at all; it was an actual Mass Relay! This was the Conduit! It had to connect to a similar relay on Ilos, and looking beside him Kiryuu now recognised the wreckage of the prototype Mako vehicle that Lofwyr had constructed for use with the _Normandy_.

It seemed evident now that Shepard had succeeded in reaching Ilos, and had even managed to follow Saren's forces through the Conduit. It looked like the only possible place she could have gone was into the Citadel Tower. Kiryuu didn't like the idea of getting so close to Sovereign; he was afraid that, like Telek, his bond to King Ghidorah would render him a liability. However, he knew that he couldn't let Shepard face that monster on her own, knowing what she was up against. So, after taking a moment to compose himself, he teleported into the only possible place everyone could be gathering; the Council Chamber.

Kiryuu soon found that he had appeared behind one of the walls on the sides of the large garden, at the bottom of the stairs leading to the main part of the chamber. He immediately heard the sounds of gunfire and carefully peeked around the wall to see what was going on. Some of the trees in the garden were on fire, and he could see several Geth drones charging towards the stairs leading to the elevator. However, all of them were swiftly gunned down, and as Kiryuu watched he saw Shepard, Alan, Kaidan and Liara all dash past his hiding place. Kiryuu was certain that Saren was at the top of the last stairs, but decided to wait and see how things turned out. If they got really bad, he would be ready to jump in.

As for Alan, every nerve in his body felt on fire. As soon as they had arrived at the Citadel the team had tried to use the elevator to the Council Chamber. However it had been stopped halfway up, and they had been forced to walk along the outside of the tower in order to reach the top. It had been a very disconcerting feeling, walking up the tower with only magnetic boots to stop them from tumbling into one of the Wards. All the way before them they had seen the looming figure of Sovereign; Alan didn't want to admit that, in such close proximity to the Reaper, he was feeling very nervous. He did his best to hide his feelings as he followed the others through the chamber and up the steps.

He briefly saw that the walkway above the rock garden had been extended, and there were various holographic displays at the end of it. These must have been hidden controls that nobody had known existed. The platform was deserted. Everybody looked carefully around, their weapons raised, their hearts beating faster. All of a sudden a dark figure rose from the rock garden below, but Alan barely had time to register what it looked like before it threw a grenade at the group. All four were forced to dive for cover as the grenade exploded dangerously close to them. Alan and Liara hid behind a large fern, while Shepard and Kaiden were some distance away, crouching behind a low wall. As Alan peered through the fern, he now got his first good look at the architect of this catastrophe; Saren Arterius.

Saren was a tall, imposing-looking Turian clad in grey combat armour and wearing a black cloth over his horns. Somewhat disturbingly his left arm looked like a Geth arm that had been grafted onto him, and pieces of tubing could be seen sticking out of his chest and neck. His chest and eyes glowed with a blue light, as if they had been replaced by machinery. It seemed apparent that Saren had let himself receive machine implants from Sovereign, and there was no telling what the extent of his modification was. He stood on a floating platform and hovered several feet above the group, his gun raised.

"I was afraid you wouldn't make it in time, Shepard," Saren snarled, his voice having an odd hissing quality to it.

"In time for what?" Shepard barked.

"The final confrontation," rasped Saren smoothly. "I think we both expected it would end like this. You've lost; you know that, don't you? In a few minutes Sovereign will have full control of all the Citadel's systems. The Relay will open and the Reapers will return!"

"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve!" Shepard retorted.

"You survived our encounter on Virmire," said Saren, "but I've changed since then, improved. Sovereign has... upgraded me."

"You let Sovereign implant you?" said Shepard, aghast. "Are you insane?"

"I suppose I should thank you, Shepard," Saren hissed. "After Virmire, I couldn't stop thinking about what you'd said, about Sovereign manipulating me, about the Hydra's indoctrination. The doubts began to eat away at me. Sovereign sensed my hesitation. I was implanted to strengthen my resolve. Now my doubts are gone; I believe in Sovereign completely. I understand that the Reapers need organics. Join us, and Sovereign will find a place for you too."

Alan could not believe what he was hearing. He knew that King Ghidorah could be a master manipulator, and now he had a perfect puppet in the form of Saren. Nobody who knew what King Ghidorah was capable of would believe that he wanted anything other than the utter destruction of all life; any beings that were spared were nothing but puppets in his elaborate chess game.

"Sovereign's controlling you through your implants!" shouted Saren. "Don't you see that?"

"The relationship is symbiotic," said Saren. "Organic and machine intertwined; a union of flesh and steel! The strengths of both; the weaknesses of neither! I am a vision of the future, Shepard; the evolution of all organic life! This is our destiny; join Sovereign and experience a true rebirth!"

"I'd rather die than live like that!" Shepard retorted.

"Then you will die," Saren hissed. "As will your companions. Everyone you have ever met, everyone you have ever cared about. Don't you understand? You will all die! The Reapers can't be stopped; not by the Forerunners and not by you! The Cycle always continues!"

"Sovereign hasn't won yet!" said Shepard firmly. "I can still stop it from taking control of the station! Step aside and the invasion will never happen!"

"We can't stop it!" barked Saren. "Not forever! You saw the visions! You saw what happened to the Forerunners! The Reapers are too powerful!"

"Some part of you must still realise this is wrong!" shouted Shepard. "You can fight this!"

Alan couldn't believe that Shepard was actually trying to speak to whatever part of Saren still remained himself. He was convinced that Saren was too far beyond the pale to bring him back from the indoctrination. He was about to fire a shot at Saren from his hiding place, but he then saw Saren reach a hand up to his forehead. Shepard's words seemed to be having an effect on him.

"Maybe you're right..." he stammered. "Maybe there is still a chance for..."

All of a sudden he cried out in blinging agony, doubling over. He held his hands up to his head as if afraid it was about to explode. He then tried to stagger back to his feet.

"The implants!" he gasped. "Sovereign is too strong... I'm sorry... It is too late for me..."

Looking around, Alan saw Shepard emerge from her hiding place. She stood boldly before Saren and looked at him dead in the eye.

"It's not over yet!" she called. "You can still redeem yourself!"

At first Alan thought that Saren was going to shoot Shepard there and then. He was about to jump out to her, but Liara placed a warning hand on her shoulder. A tense silence followed, as Saren trembled, peering at Shepard. Finally, he spoke in a loud whisper.

"Goodbye, Shepard... Thank you."

Without warning, Saren raised his gun, but instead of pointing at Shepard he raised it to his own head, and pulled the trigger. As the shot resounded and blood poured out of the open wound, the lights on Saren's implants immediately died. His limp body fell off the mobile platform and smashed through the glass above the rock garden, landing in a crumpled heap on the grass below. Saren was dead; he had taken the only way out that was open to him, his only chance at redemption. Alan, Kaidan and Liara all moved out from their hiding places to rejoin Shepard.

"I can't believe that worked..." Alan muttered in disbelief.

"So there was still good in him..." said Liara faintly. "Now we must make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain."

Shepard nodded, and all four raced to the large control panel. Kiryuu carefully moved up to get a closer look without being seen; Sovereign's pawn had been destroyed, but who knew what Sovereign would do once he realised Saren had failed. He heard a loud whisper in the back of his mind, so loud as to give him a headache, but he soon felt the pain subside. He had no doubts that the Reaper was now trying to indoctrinate him, but so far he seemed to be safe. Shepard activated her Omni-Tool and used the control panel.

"Vigil's data file worked," she said. "I've got control of all systems."

"Quick!" said Kaidan. "Open the station's arms! Maybe the fleet can take Sovereign down before he regains control!"

"See if you can open a communications channel," said Liara.

Shepard did so, and instantly a faint female voice could be heard.

"_... Destiny Ascension..."_ it said. _"Main drive is down... Kinetic barriers down 40%. The Council is on board; I repeat, the Council is on board!"_

"_Normandy to the Citadel!"_ a second voice suddenly said, this one belonging to Joker. _"Normandy to the Citadel! Please tell me that's you, Commander!"_

"I'm here, Joker," Shepard responded.

"_We caught that distress call,"_ said Joker. _"I'm sitting here at the Urs Relay with both the entire Arcturus Fleet and the Fleet Shadow of Fury. We can save the Ascension! Just unlock the relays around the Citadel and we'll send the cavalry in!"_

"But that's suicide!" Alan suddenly argued. "We can't sacrifice that many lives just for the Council's sake! Remember all the shit that they've put us through?"

"This is bigger than humanity!" said Liara. "Sovereign is a threat to every organic species in the galaxy!"

"That's why we can't throw away reinforcements trying to save the Council!" Alan countered. "Hold them back until the arms open up, and then the fleets can go after Sovereign!"

Shepard looked between the two, and then at Kaidan.

"They're both right, Kaelyn," said Kaidan. "I don't envy your position right now. It's your call though; whatever happens, we're behind you a hundred percent."

"_What's the order, Commander?"_ asked Joker. _"Come in now or hold back?"_

Alan was certain that they could not afford to go save the _Ascension_, but he had to admit that it wasn't his decision to make. Kiryuu was listening in, and he was inclined to agree with Alan, but he had to admit that this was one of the hardest decisions that anyone would ever have to face. As troublesome as the Council had been, they still represented trillions of lives in the galaxy, and he could only imagine the chaos that would unfold with their deaths. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Shepard spoke.

"Opening the relays now, Joker," she said. "We need to save the _Ascension_, no matter what the cost!"

"I hope the Council appreciates this," Alan muttered, though he didn't sound convinced that they would be.

0

As soon as the order was given, an enormous fleet of UNSC and Sangheili vessels emerged through the relay, the _Normandy_ at the head of the fleet. The last ship to emerge was the _Silent Wrath_, with Telek at the helm. He listened in on the comm. channels as the fleet advanced to intercept the Geth forces and save the stricken _Destiny Ascension_.

"_Alliance ships, move in!"_ called Admiral Stephen Hackett, who had decided to lead the fleet personally. _"Save the Destiny Ascension!"_

The UNSC ships moved in quickly. Telek knew of the firepower that the Geth ships held, and he couldn't help but feel a great sense of foreboding as they flew in. The Geth ships immediately turned about and fired at them, bringing down a number of UNSC ships as they did so. The humans fought back valiantly; with the aid of their Sangheili allies, they managed to destroy the Geth ships and clear a path for the _Ascension_ to take. The dreadnought immediately moved away from the battlefield, and was soon out of range of the guns.

"_Destiny Ascension, you are all-clear," _said Joker. _"I repeat, all-clear!"_

"_Roger that, Normandy,"_ the Asari pilots on the dreadnought responded. _"We all owe our lives to the Alliance. Good hunting!"_

"_The Citadel's opening!"_ called Hackett. _"All ships move in! Concentrate on Sovereign!"_

"I'll have to hang back, Admiral," said Telek. "The _Wrath_'s too large to fit in the station."

"_Roger that, Telek,"_ said Hackett. _"We'll try to give you a clear shot if we can; we may need your firepower to take that monster down."_

"_That won't be easy, Admiral,"_ said Cujo. _"You see the way the Reaper's attached to the tower? If Telek tries to hit it he'll end up taking the tower, and probably half the Citadel, with it!"_

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cujo," said Telek, wryly. "You guys nail that thing for us; for Mitsu, Wago and Davis. Let's send Ghidorah back to Hell!"


	13. Sovereign's Gamble

**Sovereign's Gamble**

Kiryuu could not believe that Shepard had given the order to move in. With everything taken into account he had hoped Shepard would take the logical choice of holding the ships back and saving the firepower for Sovereign. It would have meant the Council's demise, but at least it would have given the fleet a better chance to destroy Sovereign. Instead the _Ascension_ had been saved, at the cost of hundreds of human lives. He prayed that Shepard knew what she was doing.

Suddenly, as he heard Shepard give the order to check that Saren was really dead, he felt agonising pain in his head, feeling as if it was about to explode. He doubled over, seething, feeling the chamber spinning around him. Gradually the view of the Council Chamber faded away, giving way to nothing but darkness. Nothing could be seen all around him, nor could any sound be heard. It was as if he was standing in the empty void of space itself.

Suddenly he felt the sensation of being tightly gripped, as something unwound from the darkness and tightened themselves around his limbs and his body. Looking all around him, Kiryuu saw that these tentacles were made out of a strange techno-organic substance, almost as black as the void around him. He tried to swat them away with his own bio-syntech blades, but to no avail. The tentacles shot out as quickly as Kiryuu could get rid of them. He knew this nightmare all too well as it was the same one he had been suffering for several nights now.

_So the Turian has fallen..._ a grand, cold voice spoke from the darkness. _No matter... I had hoped to have a chance to use my favourite puppet. I wonder if you will perform as admirably as you did on Pandora?_

Kiryuu knew immediately who this was. This was known by many names; Sovereign, Gravemind, and mostly King Ghidorah. He saw the form attached to the dark tentacles. It was the familiar three-headed dragon that was King Ghidorah, except instead of being covered in golden scales, it was now covered in a dark, techno-organic, metallic shell, lined with glowing purple-blue lights.

_No!_ Kiryuu barked in response, recognising the voice. _I don't care what you call yourself now; I will never bow to you or your spawn again!_

_You speak as if you have a choice in the matter, my Acolyte,_ the cold voice responded. Kiryuu felt the tentacles begin to tighten, and they also started to wind around his snout, gagging him. _Perhaps I will release control later so you can see your grandson's heart stop beating._

All of a sudden another set of tentacles lashed out of the darkness, but these ones were green. They struck at the dark shape holding Kiryuu, cutting the tentacles binding him away and lashing out at King Ghidorah's body. The hydra recoiled as the plant-shaped monstrosity known as Biollante emerged from the darkness to join the fight.

_You never learn, do you?_ she hissed. _Still trying the same old song and dance?_

King Ghidorah snarled. Clearly Kiryuu's mental passenger was trying his patience. Kiryuu could sense that the hydra felt that he was running out of time; doubtless his spawn in the void were growing restless. More tentacles began to shoot out at them, but this time Kiryuu was ready. He struggled through the tentacles while Biollante spat at King Ghidorah with her acidic spray. As Kiryuu launched himself at him the tentacles shot out again, but Kiryuu swung out his blades and cut them away, eventually managing to slash the demon's body and send him reeling deeper into the darkness.

All of a sudden there was a loud noise, like a gunshot, and Kiryuu's vision went dark again. As other faint sounds could be heard around him, he soon realised that he had his eyes tightly shut. Opening them, he found himself once more in the Council Chamber, still crouched behind the low wall. He had fallen onto both knees and doubled over while he had been unconscious. As he blinked, trying to re-focus his sight, he heard King Ghidorah's voice in his head one last time:

_Fine... I cannot claim you right now. You have left me with few options, but I still have one more weapon I can bring back into the game..._

As Kiryuu tried to stagger to his feet, he suddenly felt the floor shaking beneath him, as if the Citadel had suddenly been caught in an earthquake. A loud sound resembling several thunderclaps reached his ears, as well as a strangled cry of pain. Half-running, half-stumbling up the stairs, Kiryuu now saw flashes of vivid red lightning shooting out of the rock garden, striking the walls all around them. As the quakes worsened and he reached the top of the stairs, he suddenly saw the walkway collapsing, sending Alan and Shepard plummeting into the garden below.

As the quakes subsided, lightning continued to shoot out everywhere, and Kiryuu now saw that it was definitely coming from the garden itself. He felt a great shiver run down his spine as he heard a new voice; a terrible, cold voice that sounded like a diseased cross between Saren's and King Ghidorah's:

"_I am Sovereign... And this station is mine!"_

0

Every muscle in Dorva's body ached. It seemed that there were endless reinforcements of Geth drones, and no end of places for them to take cover. He was now becoming deathly afraid that the barricade would soon be overrun; the batteries in his plasma rifles were running low, and he was sure that the C-Sec officers would be running low on ammunition clips by now. Yet the Geth still kept coming, and he knew that he was not willing to go down without a fight.

All the same, and as much as they didn't want him around, he could not help but worry about his reluctant shipmates; he had not heard any kind of communication with them since José had entered the hospital, though if he was being honest with himself he doubted that they would bring him in to confidence on any matters. Maybe it would be better for him that he not try to get close; José had already made it clear that he was not welcome.

Then again, why shouldn't he have been concerned? He owed Alan his life, after all, and he was sure that he would be doing his new Shipmaster a disservice if he didn't check on the welfare of the rest of the crew. If he was to prove his worth and function as a member of the crew, he couldn't do it in isolation. His anxiety was beginning to get the better of him, so he peered around him to make sure that C-Sec officers would be alright. They had lasted admirably long, with no casualties so far, so he decided it would be safe to leave and go check on the others.

Keeping his head low, he headed back inside the hospital; the officers were too pre-occupied with the Geth to notice his departure. As soon as he stepped inside he thought he could hear a sound coming from the floor above him, like something heavy was being thrown around, though he had to admit it was hard to tell above the gunfire from outside. Around him all of the hospital staff were taking cover wherever they could, some of them whispering frantic prayers to whatever higher entities they worshipped.

He quickly made his way up the stairs to the next floor, where the sounds of banging and crashing grew louder. Every now and then he also heard a sharp cry; a woman yelling in pain. Fearing the worst, Dorva ran along the corridors, following the crashing sounds, when all of a sudden he heard a yell as something was thrown out of one of the rooms, crashing into the opposite wall. It took Dorva a few seconds to realise that the thing was actually José, badly wounded and struggling to pick himself up from the floor. He groaned, clearly in a lot of pain.

Dorva was about to help the stricken marine to his feet when a new figure stepped out of the room. He barely recognised Alistair with the horrible scars that he had gained from the Thresher Maw attack, but the gargoyle was now on his feet, his eyes glowing with a ruby light. In spite of the glow his eyes looked strangely vacant; there was none of the focus that there would have been if he was completely possessed. It seemed that Sovereign had not considered him important enough to be possessed completely, but he was still now in the Reaper's thrall, as little more than a mindless husk. His dead gaze lingered on José for a moment before slowly turning to Dorva, the dead expression on his face giving Dorva the chills.

All at once he heard the same woman's scream coming from further down the corridor. At the sound he heard José seething, struggling to push himself up but not having the strength to. He almost looked on the verge of tears.

"Rachel..." he groaned. "I'm comin', babe..."

It seemed safe to assume that the shouts were coming from Rachel, as she struggled to bring a new life into the galaxy. As José tried to drag himself down the corridor, Alistair reached out his claw towards him, apparently intending to finish the job. However, Dorva shot out his hand and grabbed the gargoyle's arm, forcing it away. Dorva moved himself, standing firm between Alistair and his intended victim. Alistair slowly turned his eyes away from José and faced Dorva, his arm shaking as he struggled with the Sangheili's vice-like grip.

Suddenly Alistair's free hand swung out, trying to scratch Dorva's face. The sharp talons barely missed him as he jerked his head back. However, in that brief moment Alistair was able to wrench his arm free and kicked out at his midsection, with enough force to send him staggering back into the wall. Staggering to his feet, Dorva saw Alistair coming towards him, and raised his own arms, ready to fight. He still remembered his training as a Sangheili warrior, but he was very out of practice when it came to hand-to-hand combat.

Alistair suddenly charged at him, his fist raised, and Dorva barely dodged out of the way as the gargoyle went past him, punching a hole in the wall. Even in this relatively mild state of indoctrination his physical strength had been increased. Dorva grabbed him from behind and slammed him into the wall a few times, hoping to knock him unconscious, but no such luck. Instead Alistair managed to throw him off, breaking free of his grasp and sending Dorva into the wall instead. Even as Dorva tried to struggle to his feet he felt Alistair's fists connect with his face several times, until one last hook sent him reeling down the corridor.

Struggling to come to his senses, Dorva was able to get a glimpse behind Alistair as the gargoyle advanced on him again. He could see José dragging himself down the corridor and around the corner; soon he would be safe and would be with his wife in her hour of need. If Dorva died now, he knew that he would have done so trying to protect his shipmates. He had spent a long time looking for a place to die ever since he had betrayed Telek, living with the guilt of what he had done every day.

Yet now he had no intention of dying. He was determined to live and see this fight through to the end. He now fully understood what everybody was up against, and he wanted to do his part and finally redeem himself. So as Alistair came at him again he swung out his foot, catching Alistair's midsection and sending him staggering back. Understanding that he only had to subdue Alistair, he charged and tackled him to the floor.

However, Alistair was far from giving up. He managed to grab Dorva and throw the Sangheili off him, quickly jumping up into the air and raising his fist. Dorva barely managed to roll out of the way as Alistair came crashing down, his fist pounding a hole in the floor right where Dorva's head was mere seconds before. Dorva quickly sprang to his feet and continued to fight. As he and Alistair traded blows he wondered how everyone else was getting on, and prayed that none of them were fighting a losing battle.

0

Telek listened in on the comm. channels as the fleets moved in on Sovereign. He only wished that he could be down there himself, fighting that monster, but after the experience above Virmire he knew that he could not take the risk of being controlled again, especially not when his allies were already vulnerable. He had heard anguished cries and channels suddenly going dead as Sovereign had launched volleys of lasers at the attacking frigates, cutting each down instantly. The Sangheili ships fared a little better with their advanced shielding, but even they soon succumbed to the Reaper's might. All the ships fired no end of missiles and photon torpedos at the immense machine, but it was as if they were only tickling it. Telek knew that each of these creatures was essentially an incarnation of King Ghidorah; clearly the Reapers had the same strength as their creator.

"_Sovereign's too strong!"_ he heard one of the Sangheili shipmasters saying._ "We have to pull back!"_

"_Negative!"_ replied Admiral Hackett._ "This is our only chance! Take that monster down no matter what the cost!"_

"He's right!" said Telek. "We're not gonna get another shot at this! Divert all non-essential systems to reinforce your armour and shielding!"

"_This would be a lot easier if we could just dislodge him from the damn tower!" _said Garrus, who was manning the gun batteries on the _Normandy_. _"Then you could probably fry 'im with the Wrath's main gun!"_

"If I can get a clear shot, I'll take it," replied Telek. "I'm not riskin' any of you guys getting caught in the blast, and while I wouldn't miss the Citadel if it was gone there are still too many people on the station."

Joli, meanwhile, was at the helm, studying the ship's scanners. One blip amidst the many surrounding Sovereign fascinated him.

"Look at that _Normandy_ go!" he breathed, his eyes wide. "I don't know who the pilot is, but he's damn good! He's dodged so many shots that would've taken out any other vessel of that size!"

"You ain't jealous, are ya?" drawled Telek smarmily.

"No, Excellency!" Joli replied, sounding worried. "I just..."

"Relax, Joli," said Tom. "He's just teasing ya."

"Am I, Tom?" asked Telek wryly, smirking. He then opened a comm. channel to Admiral Hackett. "Admiral, you got any news from that Shepard character?"

"_Not since she called us in, Telek,"_ replied Hackett. _"Something must have happened to her on the Citadel. I'd guess it's not over yet for her."_

"I'm picking up Reclaimer signals from the top of the Citadel Tower," said Joli, who had taken that as his cue to check the Luminary. "Two, just for the record. There are four others in the chamber with her."

"Ah reckon one of 'em's Saren," snarled Telek. "Ah hope she nails that bastard's head to the wall."

0

Alan slammed into the wall surrounding the rock garden, his whip flailing all over the place as he collapsed to the grassy ground. He had not been hurt badly, but he felt as if all of the air had been knocked out of him. He staggered to his feet, glaring up at his opponent; the resurrected Saren.

Even after Kaidan had put another bullet into Saren's brain, the corpse had suddenly raised, red lightning shooting everywhere. Saren's body had twisted, changed, and finally raised itself to full height. The implants in him had gone haywire, revealing the full extent of his modifications: his arms and legs had been lengthened and his flesh had been burned away. He was nothing more than a synthetic skeleton, the lights on his cybernetic implants glowing with a vivid blue light, his body crackling with the same red lightning that seemed to be radiating from his chest. Only his skull remained, minus the jaw, the eye-holes glowing with a blazing ruby light. Sovereign had revived Saren, and was now controlling him through the implants, forcing him to fight one last battle.

Alan had tried to strike at Saren, only to find himself grabbed and thrown aside like a rag-doll. As he watched, he saw Liara use her biotic abilities, her body glowing with a blue light, and she threw a fluctuating sphere in Saren's direction. However Saren was too fast, darting away and clinging to the wall, the sphere narrowly missing him. He moved at an incredible speed, scuttling around and leaping like a mutated spider. The only other thing that Alan had seen move so fast was Telek when he had been possessed. All the while the skeletal creature fired red lasers at the group, forcing them to dive for cover.

Shepard tried to fire at Saren, but her bullets were deflected by a powerful shield. Saren retaliated with one of his lightning bolts hitting her square in the chest. Much of the blast was absorbed by her shielding, but she was still sent sprawling to the floor. Saren advanced on her as she struggled to pick herself up, feeling as if her limbs were barely functioning. He raised one of his enormous claws, preparing to gouge Shepard there and then.

Suddenly his hand recoiled as it was struck by something from behind. There was a blue flash through the air as Saren was struck again in the back, by Alan's whip. The plasma line struck again, not hard enough to cause any serious damage, but enough to knock Saren away and allow Shepard to roll clear. Alan advanced on the walking abomination, lashing out with the whip again and again, hoping to finish off Saren before he had a chance to recuperate.

However, as Alan advanced on him, Saren suddenly released a red energy pulse that spread throughout the chamber. Shepard, Kaidan and Liara were far enough back for it to barely affect them, but Alan, who was the closest, was sent flying off his feet, landing in a crumpled heap on the grass. He muttered furiously as he tried to pull himself to his feet, cursing himself for not seeing that attack coming. As Saren scuttled towards him Alan tried to lash out at him again, but Saren was too fast, striking his arm and knocking the weapon out of his claw. With a vicious backhand, Saren sent Alan sprawling to the floor again. Shepard and Kaidan once again tried to throw Saren off with gunfire, but the bullets had no effect.

Blood spurting from a split lip, Alan tried to pull himself together, but Saren grabbed him by the neck and squeezed, intending to choke the life out of the mutant. Alan struggled for life, trying to pull Saren's arms away, but to no avail. Just as his vision began to grow dark, however, something grabbed Saren from behind and pulled his arms away. As Alan fell to the floor, gasping for breath, the figure pulled Saren away in a tight chokehold.

The attacker was Kiryuu, who had been observing the battle. He had teleported into the garden when it looked like Alan was in serious danger, his eyes blazing with an unfathomable rage. King Ghidorah, that monster that now masqueraded as a machine and was even now residing in Saren's body, had destroyed his family once; he had no intention of allowing it to happen again.

As Kiryuu pulled Saren away from the group, Saren managed to throw Kiryuu off him, tossing him over his shoulder and sending him crashing to the ground. Grunting in pain, Kiryuu rolled out of the way as Saren's claws lashed out. Without hesitation, Kiryuu pulled the Technomantic cords out once again, and immediately sent them towards Saren. The cords latched on, winding themselves tightly around Saren's arms and creeping up to the sides of his face, attaching themselves to his temples. Saren struggled, wrenching his arms fiercely, but Kiryuu gritted his teeth, determined to hold on. He sent several electrical pulses along the cords, trying to overload Saren's implants.

All of a sudden he felt a horrible burning sensation in the cords. Saren was peering at him intently, the red glow of his eyes burning brighter than before, and Kiryuu noticed that he was gripping the cords tightly in his extended fingers. As several dark pulses began to travel down the cords, Kiryuu's eyes widened in shock. Saren was trying to use the cords against him! By all accounts Saren shouldn't have been able to use them, for only Technomancers and Forerunner constructs could do so. It looked like he was trying to force a connection anyway and even seemed to be having some success. Kiryuu tried to sever the connection to stop himself from being overloaded, but the cords held fast. He began to furiously try to shake himself free as the pulses crept closer.

All of a sudden there was a blinding white light and a loud noise like a thunderclap. Saren was sent flying backwards, and Kiryuu staggered back, dazed, as the cords suddenly retreated back into him. Saren hit the opposite wall with a resounding thud, but recovered quickly, sending a volley of laser bolts in Kiryuu's direction. Kiryuu was still stunned, however, and Alan had to tackle him to the floor as the bolts shot over their heads.

As the two of them pulled themselves up, trying to get a bead on Saren, they saw that the skeleton was moving at a blinding speed. The shots from the others went wild, and Alan was sure that they had no hope of hitting him at that speed. Every now and then he would shoot a volley of lasers or his red lightning. Sprays of mud were sent everywhere, the rocks were split and even the garden's tree was snapped neatly in two by the deadly lasers, the leaves catching on fire. None of the group could get a clear shot in as Saren darted all around them, keeping them pinned down with his weaponry.

"We can't take much more of this!" Kaidan shouted. "He'll get a lucky shot in soon, and we're running outta cover!"

"There's gotta be a way to immobilise him!" Alan shouted.

"I can't hit him with a stasis field!" Kiryuu called. "He's moving too fast!"

It was then that Liara, who had been quiet to this point, started to glow again, her biotics powering up.

"I have an idea..." she said quietly. "It will take all of my focus, so I'll only get one chance..."

"Try anything!" Alan shouted.

After another laser shot past them, Liara stood up, taking a deep breath, her eyes glowing with a bright white light and her whole body seeming to be bathed in a blue fire. She shot her arm out and directed a stream of energy towards the centre of the ceiling. When it was just under the glass it suddenly seemed to explode, forming what looked like a small purple orb right in the centre of the ceiling. Alan felt a tugging sensation, as if an invisible string was trying to pull him up to the ceiling towards that orb. If Alan didn't know any better, he could have sworn that Liara had just created a black hole. Liara herself seemed to be struggling to maintain this singularity field, as her knees buckled and she gritted her teeth.

Mercifully her gamble paid off, for as Saren lurched towards the opposite wall he was suddenly caught in the pull of the singularity. He was thrown about, suspended near the ceiling, flailing about desperately fighting to escape the pull. He continued to shoot, but the shots went wild as he was disoriented. Seeing this, Shepard pointed over to Kiryuu.

"Mr. President!" she shouted. "Restrain him! Quick!"

"Hurry!" Liara shouted, her expression making it clear that her strength was failing her.

Without hesitation, Kiryuu tore the plating from his forearms, extending the silver bio-syntech tendrils that made up his muscle tissue. He had complete control over it, and he sent it to tightly bind Saren's arms and legs, rendering him immobile. For a while he floated in the singularity's pull, looking like a monstrous kite, until finally the glowing orb faded. Liara collapsed to her knees, looking completely drained. Kaidan rushed over to her and knelt over her protectively.

As soon as Saren hit the floor, he wrestled viciously, trying to escape from the syntech binding him. Kiryuu held on for dear life as Saren tried to spring out of his grasp, nearly throwing Kiryuu off-balance several times as he fought to free himself. It was as if Kiryuu was trying to lasso a wild animal, or had hooked a particularly monstrous fish. On top of that, Saren fired his lasers straight at Kiryuu several times, forcing him to raise his shielding, putting extra strain on him that became evident on his face.

"It's no use!" he gasped. "I can't hold him like this forever!"

All of a sudden Saren launched himself in the one direction he wasn't restricted; straight at Kiryuu. The syntech lines went slack as he pounced at Kiryuu, and the mecha was caught by surprise; he was tackled and toppled over to the floor, Saren standing over him.

"_This ends now,"_ Sovereign's voice rasped through Saren's mouth. _"The Cycle will begin again!"_

Kiryuu was certain that Saren would have blasted him there and then, but suddenly there was a loud gunshot and what looked like a large ball of electricity slammed into Saren. He released a loud yell as he shuddered violently, as if having an electric shock. Kiryuu was affected by this too due to his close proximity and the fact that he was still binding Saren, and he felt as if he had been punched in the gut. Looking over to the side he saw Alan standing there, the barrel of his Technomantic revolver smoking. He had fired a Medusa shell; a type of shot used for stunning targets and disabling shielding.

Saren was still reeling, trying to recover from the effects of the shot, when all of a sudden Shepard ran in, shoulder-tackling him and slamming his face with the butt of her rifle. Still addled by the shot, Saren didn't react quickly enough, and another strike sent him toppling over. Standing firm over him, Shepard saw that the red lightning that crackled all over him seemed to be coming from a spot in the centre of his chest. The rib-cage was exposed, showing what looked like a metallic orb, which doubtless contained the energy that was powering this zombie-like creature.

With grim focus in her eyes, she unloaded every round from her rifle into Saren's chest, piercing his chest and face liberally. She focused her aim on the sphere, and as she felt the bullets in her clip begin to run out she heard the sphere smashing, unable to contain the energies locked within any longer, damaged beyond repair. She quickly jumped back to avoid getting hit as the red energy exploded out from Saren, dissipating at it hit the walls. Saren's body was consumed by this energy, and before everyone's eyes he burst into flame, and whatever was left of his body was swiftly reduced to ashes.

At last, as Shepard lowered her gun and went to rejoin the others, she knew that it was finally over. Kiryuu looked at where the body had fallen, and wondered just how much of himself King Ghidorah had put into Saren, how much energy he had used in order to revive him. As the group moved to climb out of the rock garden, exhausted beyond all endurance, he hoped and prayed that it was all over.

0

The fleets continued their valiant struggle. They had lost several ships as well as the ones that had been destroyed in rescuing the _Destiny Ascension_, but they had never stopped fighting. Now, as they watched, they saw red lightning streaking all over Sovereign, and all of a sudden it leaned precariously. It took a moment for everyone to realise that Sovereign was now detached from the Citadel Tower, and was in free-fall. Its enormous arms writhed desperately as it fell away from the tower, the lights on it flickering and fading. This sudden weakness did not escape Telek's notice, and as he ran a scan on the Reaper he soon realised what had happened.

"_Its shields are down!"_ said Joker over the channels. _"Now's our chance!"_

"Give 'em hell, boys!" shouted Telek to all the ships.

"_Hit it with everything we've got!"_ commanded Hackett, in a somewhat more reserved tone.

"I'll try to move the _Wrath_ into position!" called Telek. "If it's detached from the tower, I might be able to hit it with a low-output blast from the main gun."

"_You got it, Squiddy,"_ replied Joker, jokingly. _"We'll soften it up for ya!"_

"Only Johnson ever got to call me 'Squiddy'," Telek retorted grumpily, remembering the grouchy, larger-than-life sergeant.

Immediately the surviving frigates opened fire, torpedoes and plasma bolts rocking Sovereign from all sides. The shots gradually pushed it further away from the tower. With deliberate movements Joli steered the _Silent Wrath_ into a position where Sovereign would be more vulnerable from the main gun, a position where they could hit it would hitting the Citadel.

"_Hard on my flank!"_ Joker called. _"We're going in!"_ As the _Normandy_ swooped at the stricken Reaper, blasting off large chunks of it with its own main cannon, Joli called up from the _Wrath_'s helm.

"We're in position, Excellency!" he said. "We've got a clear shot!"

"Well, waddaya waitin' for?" shouted Telek. "Blast that son-of-a-bitch!"

"Everyone get clear!" Tom called into the communicator. "We're gonna finish that thing off!"

"_Copy, Jimenez,"_ replied Hackett. _"Our ships are outta the firing line!"_

"Fire!" shouted Telek.

Joli didn't need to be told twice. He fired the main gun, and the energy streaked straight out of the front of the vessel, striking the Reaper right in the middle. The dreaded machine was torn apart by the gun; most of it was outright disintegrated, but large chunks were sent flying all over the Citadel. As it was destroyed, Telek whooped and cheered with the rest of the crew and the fleet survivors.

"How do ya like that, Ghidorah?" he shouted. "Now I'm gonna make the rest of yer star-spawn extinct!"

0

Alan helped to pull Shepard out of the garden and back into the main chamber, as she was the last to climb out of that makeshift arena. The chamber had been momentarily lit by the blast from the _Wrath_'s main gun, and the explosion could be heard all over the station within the mass effect fields. It was then, and only then, did they realise that Sovereign was truly defeated; they had won.

However, even as they watched, they saw a huge piece of metal, the remains of one of Sovereign's arms, flying through space, straight at them. With wide eyes, Shepard turned to the others.

"Go!" she shouted, pushing Alan and Kaidan away. All five of them ran for it; Kiryuu was in the front while Shepard brought up the rear. Even as he ran, his muscles aching, Alan was sure that they could not hope to outrun the wreckage.

The next thing he knew, he was thrown bodily through the air, as the tower was rocked by a loud crash. Large chunks of flying debris smashed all around him, such a cacophony of noise the likes of which he had never heard before. He slammed hard onto the floor and rolled over several times, a particularly large piece of debris coming down dangerously close to his head. As he came to a stop, his ears began ringing so loudly as to blot out all other noise. He felt as if he was trapped inside a bass drum during a thunderstorm.

At last, as the noise died away, Alan tried to prise himself off the floor, only to find that he was pinned down by rubble. An emergency shield must have activated, as nothing was sucked out of the chamber into the void. He blinked several times, his sight very blurred. Around him he could now hear fires burning, and the faint sounds of movement coming from close by. As he watched, a piece of rubble was shifted aside, and it took a few moments for Alan to see Kiryuu, looking worried out of his mind, his face streaked with dirt.

"Alan!" Kiryuu shouted, forcing his way through the wreckage to reach Alan. With all of his strength he managed to lift off a piece of ceiling that had pinned Alan down, and was soon helping his wayward grandson to his feet.

"Alan, are you alright?" Kiryuu asked urgently. It took a few seconds for Alan to answer, as his head felt like a smashed pumpkin, like the morning after shore leave.

"No," he groaned, even as the pain in his legs began to die away. "I need a holiday. Maybe somewhere sunny."

Kiryuu couldn't help chuckling slightly, and as he helped to pull Alan clear of the wreckage they heard footsteps coming towards them. Looking back towards the stairs, they soon saw Anderson, Chellick and the C-Sec officers approaching them, each of them lowering their weapons as they saw the pair. All of them were covered in synthetic fluids; they had fought their way through a small army of Geth to get here.

"Mr. President!" Anderson called. "Are you alright, sir?"

"As well as can be expected, Captain," replied Kiryuu. He looked back towards the wreckage. "I'm worried about Shepard and her team. They were further back than we were..."

Without waiting for instructions, Chellick and his troops moved in, frantically pushing the wreckage aside. Alan coughed and nearly collapsed; though he had healed quickly, he still felt exhausted. Kiryuu helped to support him.

"Take it easy, Alan," he said. "At least it's all over now."

"Maybe..." Alan groaned. "That was just one of them, though..."

"I know," said Kiryuu. "We'll worry about that later. Right now let's just enjoy the small victory we have all achieved here today."

"Captain Anderson!" Chellick suddenly called. "Get over here! We've found 'em!"

Anderson quickly moved to the wreckage, helping to push more of it out of the way. Soon he was leading both Kaidan and Liara away from the wreckage, helping them to stay on their feet.

"Take it easy," he said to them. "You're safe now; it's over. Where's the Commander?"

The only response he got from them was silence. Both of them looked back towards a particularly large cluster of wreckage, with expressions of deepest sorrow. Alan and Kiryuu followed their gaze. Indeed, if anybody had been there, as Shepard almost certainly would have been, they were sure that they would definitely have been killed.

"No..." Alan breathed, hardly daring to believe it. This one woman who had performed so many minor miracles in the past few days was now gone. Alan saw that this had hit Kaidan the hardest; he looked completely torn apart. Kiryuu closed his eyes, and began to say a silent prayer. Anderson too looked stricken with grief; his protégé, the nearest thing he had ever had to a daughter, was gone.

"I saw her final moments, Captain," Kiryuu said with sincere sympathy. "She was a courageous and resourceful woman, dedicated to saving the peoples of this galaxy all the way to the end. You would have been proud of her."

"I am proud of her, Mr. President," replied Anderson sadly.

Neither Kaidan nor Liara said anything; the grief in their eyes said more than words ever could. The group began to make their way back towards the elevator, with Kiryuu supporting Alan while other C-Sec officers supported Kaidan and Liara. There was a very melancholy air hanging over them, and the victory felt bittersweet.

It was then that a faint noise could be heard behind them. On a whim Anderson turned to look back, and he saw something moving in the midst of the wreckage.

"Wait a minute!" he called. "Wait a minute!"

The group paused and turned back. Within moments they had seen what Anderson saw as well; a figure running along the floor, darting between the mounds of wreckage. The figure scrambled to the top of a pile of ruined machinery, and at last the group saw that it was Commander Shepard; bruised and battered, but very much alive.

Now that she had seen the others, seen the overjoyed faces of her companions and friends, her face lit up, and she hobbled over the wreckage towards them. After a few moments of stunned silence, Chellick and the C-Sec officers filled the hall with their cheers. Anderson, Kiryuu, Alan, Kaidan and Liara preferred to take a more dignified approach in showing their immense joy at seeing her alive, as she walked into the arms of those who she cared about, and who cared about her, the most.


	14. Epilogue

**Epilogue: The Wake**

The damage to the Citadel was great indeed. Even as the last of the Geth were destroyed, it was apparent that a great many casualties had been sustained. C-Sec had done all that they could to defend the civilians, but they had been facing almost impossible odds from the very start. The Geth had not been the sole cause of the damage, for pieces of Sovereign had been thrown everywhere, not to mention the damage caused by Sovereign's devastating weaponry. Tayseri Ward got hit the hardest; the Dilinaga Concert Hall, named after a famous Asari Matriach, was now reduced to rubble. Later estimates would place total reconstruction of the Citadel at taking anything up to ten years.

As soon as he could do so, after having to fend off various questions by C-Sec officers and UNSC officials, Alan had made his way to the Zakera Ward hospital. The only people he really cared about now would be there, and he hoped and prayed that they were alright. The whole Citadel was lined with refugees and maintenance crews, all working around the clock to restore some semblance of normality to their shattered lives. The looks on their faces made it clear to Alan that they knew nothing would ever be the same again; their illusion of safety and dominance was gone forever, and indeed many seemed rather listless, as if the catastrophe had made expect another attack at any minute.

The hospital itself was full of the injured, and the doctors were pushed to their limits tending to the various trauma victims. The hospital itself still stood, though there were clear blast burns on the outside of the building from plasma weapon impact. Alan worked his way through the corridors, pushing his way past the crowds of the injured, until he found the people he was looking for in Alistair's ward. Bishop, Call and Dorva were all in the word, as was Alistair, now restored to his normal self. Alan beamed at them as he entered.

"Are you guys alright?" he asked.

"Perfectly within operational parameters, Captain," replied Bishop, smiling slightly. He and Alan shook hands firmly, and Alan did the same with Call, who looked more than a little relieved.

"I..." she stammered. "I knew things were going to be dangerous, flying with this crew, but I never expected anything like... This is the first time I've actually feared for my life... I know that sounds stupid, knowing what I am, but..."

"It's okay..." Alan said sympathetically. "It's not stupid at all." He remembered Cortana, an AI that had shown itself perfectly capable of emotion, including paralysing fear, so he knew that he had no right to laugh at Call's reaction to the events. He then turned to Dorva, who stood straight-backed, as if he was in a military parade.

"Shipmaster..." he said, saluting respectfully.

"Ah, forget the formalities," said Alan. "You sail with me long enough, you'll learn that I don't care much for ceremony."

"He's not wrong there..." Alistair said, limping over to the others on crutches. "I've never seen him wear any of that poncy dress uniform malarkey. Mind you, the Fleet Shadow of Fury's never been big on formality."

"How you feeling?" Alan asked, looking relieved to see his First Mate up and about, though he tried his best to stop himself wincing at the sight of his scars, which covered the left side of his face, chest and the whole of his left arm.

"About as well as could be expected," Alistair smirked. "No-one would give me a mirror though. How bad is it?"

"Hell, Alistair, you were always ugly," Alan replied smarmily. "Slap some face-paint on you, and no-one will know the difference."

Alistair started to laugh, but then gave a sharp grunt of pain.

"Oh, please don't make me laugh, Captain," he gasped. "My beak's barely holding together as it is."

There was an awkward silence there, as there was one topic in-particular that Alan knew had to be addressed, but none of them seemed eager to discuss it. In the end, Alan knew that he had to get it out the way with, so he turned to Bishop.

"Did anything happen?" he asked awkwardly.

"I'm standing right here, mate," Alistair said awkwardly. "You don't need a second-hand witness."

"You feel alright talking about it?" Alan asked.

"Not really," Alistair groaned. "I guess I can't avoid it though, can I?" He took a deep breath. "I remember the Thresher Maw... Then I saw myself waking up here, only I wasn't moving myself, like I was in a dream. I saw... I saw myself, hurting people, throwing them against the walls, and there was nothing I could do about it. Sovereign forced me to watch while my body... If you guys hadn't stopped me..." He broke off here, shaking, not wanting to go on.

"It's alright, Alistair," said Dorva. "It wasn't you. You don't have to explain or apologise for anything."

"That's just it though, isn't it?" said Alistair, sounding worried. "Just like Telek, I'm a liability when we come across King Ghidorah or any of his damn minions. Maybe it's better I sit things out now, go somewhere where I'm not gonna hurt anybody..."

"Don't you dare start talking like that," Alan interrupted. "I won't put up with any emo bullshit from my crew." As Alistair looked at him unconvinced, Alan pressed on. "You know, I've been thinking long and hard about what you told me, about when Brooklyn came to you during his Timedance. You want to know why I think he was sent there?"

"He lost a bet with the Phoenix Gate?" Alistair shrugged.

"I think he was sent there to make sure you survived," Alan continued more forcefully. "I don't know why, but I have the feeling we'll find out sooner or later. If some time-hopping buzzard thought you were important enough to save, then there's got to be something in the pipeline for you."

Alistair shook his head in disbelief, though for a moment Alan thought he saw a faint trace of a smile on his beak.

"Has anybody ever told you that you're a complete bloody nutter?" the gargoyle then said.

"More often than you'd think," Alan replied. "It must be true though; I put up with you lot, don't I?"

"And we in turn have to endure you, Captain," Bishop chimed in. "It seems that we all feed on each other's insanity."

"I agree with the Professor's diagnosis," another voice suddenly said from the doorway. Alan spun round to find José leaning on the doorframe. His left arm seemed to have been broken, as it was in a sling, and he had a bandage across his forehead. He peered around at the group, though did his best to avoid Dorva's eyes.

"Well, if it isn't the married one," said Alan, walking up to José. "Don't you have a wife to be seeing to right now?"

"Yeah, about that..." José said rather awkwardly. "You're the only one who's not seen her..."

He beckoned for Alan to follow him down the corridor, and soon both were walking into Rachel's ward. Once there the exhausted-looking but beaming Rachel put a finger to her lips, as she carefully held a small bundle wrapped in a soft blanket. Walking around the bed to get a better look, Alan saw a small face, fast asleep, in the midst of the blanket.

"I don't believe it..." Alan said, incredulously. "She came in the middle of a warzone?"

"Yeah," said Rachel. "I think the noise spooked her out."

"What a way to come into this world," sighed José. "Hope it ain't a sign of things to come."

"Does she have a name?" Alan asked.

"I have one," said Rachel. "I want to call her Inara. My mum talked about her quite often, and I always thought it was a pretty name."

"Don't I get a say in this?" asked José with mock indignation.

"Nope," replied Rachel simply.

"I guess it's Inara then," said Alan, smirking. "Well, I shall personally endeavour to be the weirdest uncle possible. I'll have to see about getting a crib installed on the _Serenity_."

"Not so fast, Captain..." José said. "Rachel and I have been talking and... well... we won't be going with you, wherever it is you're going next."

"We're going back to Earth," said Rachel. "I can talk to my Uncle Mal; he might be able to set us up with a ranch. Fresh air and wide open spaces is good for a baby, right? _Serenity_ may be a good girl, but probably not when it comes to kids."

"That's alright with you, isn't it, boss?" asked José. "I don't wanna miss any moment of this. You can manage without me, right?"

"Why would I say it's not okay?" Alan said. "You really think I'd drag you away from your daughter?" He shook his head, smiling. "I grew up without my dad for most of my life. He was always away working in one place or another. I don't want that for your girl." He turned to Rachel. "You make sure he stays for you both, even if you have to keep him tied to the sofa."

Rachel chuckled at this, while José looked slightly flustered.

"Hey, boss..." José then said, as if there was something he didn't want to say but knew he had to say. "I hate to say it, but if Dorva hadn't stepped in... I don't know if I'm ready to forgive him yet, but the guy did good."

Alan just nodded. He knew that José would never say such a thing to the Sangheili's face. It looked like Dorva would serve on the _Serenity_ never knowing the full extent of José's gratitude.

"I heard from Kiryuu that there'll be a grand memorial service back on Earth within the next week," Alan said quietly. "It sounds like it'll be taking place close to where the Covenant War Memorial is. Kiryuu's invited us all to attend."

"No sense in not being there," José said. "The doctors want to keep Rachel and Inara in the hospital a couple of days longer, make sure there's nothin' amiss. We'll ride back to Earth with you."

"I'll be glad to get out of here," Rachel chimed in. "Not even aliens can get hospital food right. I've had a craving for fried chicken and didn't get any."

0

A week later, the memorial was erected on a great dusty plain, near the unearthed Portal Cartographer outside New Mombasa. It was a site of great importance to the UNSC military, as on the plain lay the great war memorial commemorating those who had died during the Covenant War. It had made the most sense to erect the new memorial there, dedicating it to all of those who had died in the Battle of the Citadel, honouring the names of those who had fought to save all of the peoples of the galaxy from the Reapers. Lord Terrance Hood was to be buried near his hometown later, in a small private ceremony reserved for his family and close friends, and here his name would also be honoured. The date of the memorial was one cool evening, as the sun began to set, bathing the area in a warm orange light.

Alan had made attempts to smarten himself up for the service, but he found it impossible to find clothes that were especially made for him. He felt like a complete fraud, turning up in his dark shirt and trousers when most everyone around him was in some form of dress uniform. Around him stood Alistair, José, Rachel with the newborn Inara, Bishop, Call and Dorva. In spite of their attempts to make themselves look presentable, none of them could shake the feeling that they stuck out like sore thumbs.

An immense crowd had gathered for the memorial; it seemed as if everyone in the UNSC had turned out to honour their heroes. Many Sangheili had also appeared, among them Otto 'Gamam and Rtas 'Vadum, who were at the front close to the _Serenity_ crew. There were even representatives from the Asari, Salarians and Turians, who had arrived to show their respect for the sacrifice the humans had made saving their lives. Alan had to admit that he was surprised to see the Council there, in mourning with the rest.

Also close to him were the _Normandy_ crew. Kaelyn Shepard, Kaidan Alenko and Garrus Vakarian were all in smart dress uniforms, while Liara T'Soni was wearing a lovely emerald-green evening gown. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya was still in her environment suit, while Urdnot Wrex was now wearing old ceremonial armour that apparently had once belonged to his grandfather. Alan saw Shepard walk from the group and up to the memorial, placing something at the base of it. The memorial itself was made to resemble an O'Neill Cylinder placed on its end; the shape of the Citadel. Each arm was engraved with the names of all of the UNSC servicemen who had died in the battle. Alan was later to learn that Shepard had placed a photo of Ashley Williams there, along with Ashley's grandfather's dog tags, which she had always kept in her cabin.

Telek 'Heros was also present, as were Cujo 'Mentatal, Tulsa 'Durosh and Tom Jimenez. Telek was, oddly enough to Alan, wearing a UNSC dress uniform, even down to the cap with golden laurel leaf fretting decorating the visor. He looked to Alan like a hunchbacked, somewhat gangly human more than a Sangheili warrior. Alan was sure that they were there to honour Mitsu, Wago, Davis and all those from the Fleet Shadow of Fury who were no longer with them. Close to the Shipmasters were three people that Alan recognised to be the three dragons he knew; Malcho, back in his human form, Tim 'Manda' Marx looking like a blond-haired Caucasian man, and Lofwyr Goldensnout as a gaunt-looking German with white hair.

All present listened to Admiral Hackett's speech, although Alan had to admit that he hadn't really been paying attention. He was looking over at Kiryuu, who was off to the side, dressed in his finest suit for the occasion. Alan wondered what was going through Kiryuu's mind at present; was he already thinking of ways to fight the Reapers should they return? Did he share the same fears and doubts that were already flooding Alan's mind? As Hackett announced Kiryuu's turn to take the podium to read the eulogy he had prepared, Alan wondered what it was he was about to say, and what impact his words would have on all present, both human and alien alike.

"Five years ago, we stood here at the end of a war that nearly brought the end of the Human Race," Kiryuu began. "We honoured the fallen then who gave their lives for our very survival. And now, we return again to the barren spot where the Portal opened to the Ark to remember another group of fallen heroes, heroes who gave their lives so that not only humanity survives, but all sentient life continues on. Words cannot begin to express the gratitude I have for these noble men and women.

"We honour especially one man who died at the hands of terrorists, a hero who stood beside me at the end of the Human/Covenant War. His guidance and strength helped as it did my predecessor and his predecessor as well. Fleet Admiral Terrance Hood knew what would eventually happen when he took up the mantle of leadership. When I heard what happened, I was more than angered and saddened to have lost a confidant and a dear friend. He will be missed.

"But now, we lay to rest Lord Hood and many other heroes like him. They have served well in the face of adversity and I hope that they are given no less than full honours. I will say this, though. A battle won does not mean the end to a war. This is only the beginning. We would be doing our fallen heroes a disservice by not acknowledging that. Let their spirits know that we will continue on with the fight against others like Sovereign, and they will rest peacefully."

With that, he bowed his head, his eyes downcast and in deep thought. Telek pulled his cap off and lowered it to his side. Tom did the same. Just as all the officers began to lower their caps, the Marines lifted up their assault rifles for the 3-Volley Salute. The gunfire echoed across the barren hill. Kiryuu stepped down and approached Telek.

"We've lost Jacob, Miranda, Sergeant Johnson, Cortana, and now Terrance as well," he said. "And let's not forget Colonel Davis and your two Shipmasters Mitsu and Wago."

"I guess my time of pullin' off miracles is slowly comin' to an end," said Telek. "My luck is wearing thin."

"Both of our luck is wearing thin," said Kiryuu. "And I'm afraid we are running out of time. You and I both know how the Citadel is going to take this. Even if we've proven that there is a very real threat, they would still shove it off to the side and just stick their collective heads back up their asses."

"What's your point?" Telek asked. "This is somethin' I already know."

"My point is, I need someone out there that can still keep an eye on things," said Kiryuu. "Discretely. And I know you are very capable of doing that if you want to. After all, you were the captain of the nigh-uncatchable Shade of Darkness. I don't doubt that's something beyond your tricks."

"I don't want to risk possession again either," said Telek.

"That's why Dunkelzahn is staying with you," said Kiryuu. "Much like Biollante is a bit of a pain upon that monster, so is Dunkelzahn. Do this favour for me, Telek. And for them..."

He motioned back towards the memorial.

"They need it too," he said.

"I suppose this means you're putting me back on the payroll again," said Telek.

"I could put you on my personal payroll, Admiral," said Kiryuu. "As my very own privateer..."

"You may be rich, but you ain't got the budget to keep my ship up."

"That's why I will do a little persuading to President Mendoza," said Kiryuu. "But you will still answer to me. I am not about to let this go, not ever."

"Alright, then," said Telek. "For them." Then, he leaned in closer to Kiryuu. "Somebody better find me some paint. I'm gonna be needin' to stick Calico Jack's Jolly Roger on my new ship."

"I suppose it wouldn't be a pirate ship without it," said Kiryuu with a slight smile.

"Well, I did borrow it without asking," Telek said. "Much like I did my old ship, and my last ship before that damned Reaper blew a hole through her. Sooner or later, I'm gonna get the Shadow back, but I think I might keep the Wrath as well. Make up for losing Wago's ship and Mitsu's as well and Tom's ship. A supercarrier for one destroyer, one battlecruiser, and an assault carrier; good trade. But it can't replace the souls of those ships. Damn King Ghidorah."

"Telek," said Kiryuu. "Tell me you will do what I ask; you will be my eyes and ears out there."

"Sure," said Telek. "But why not you? Gonna be too busy with the Citadel stuff again?"

"Well..." Kiryuu began. "I..."

"Is there something you wanna tell me?" Telek asked.

"I've had some thoughts..." Kiryuu began. "The battle I went through has brought something up... something I need to figure out."

"Just don't get caught snoopin' like you did last time," said Telek. "I heard what happened with you and C-Sec."

"You should have heard what they did to poor Malcho," said Kiryuu. "Just for being what he is."

"Make those bastards at the Council come to Earth some time," said Telek with a slight grin. "And send them to downtown Seattle. Let's see how long they last in the middle of some Troll and Orc gang war. They'll think twice about thinking humans are a bunch of racist, primitive inbreds, especially seeing what Humanity really is all about."

"Why not send them right now?" asked Kiryuu wryly, jerking his head in the direction of the Councillors stood out of earshot. "They are standing right over there."

"Ah, let 'em hear," shrugged Telek. "Ya think I give a crap what they think of anything now?"

Kiryuu chuckled, shaking his head. He then turned to face the memorial and sighed.

"There will be a funeral service for Terrance in two days, in Washington D.C.," said Kiryuu quietly. "Family and close friends only. I know that he counted you as one or the other; possibly both."

"I wouldn't miss it," said Telek.

"Thank you," said Kiryuu. "We can discuss things further there."

The two shook hands firmly, and Telek walked back to the rest of the Shipmasters. Kiryuu looked around at all the different groups, now irreversibly involved in this affair. Malcho was in deep discussion with Manda and Lofwyr, doubtless relaying his discoveries from the Array, including the truth about the Forerunners. Most of the _Normandy_ crew were leaving, no doubt heading back to the ship. Kaidan lingered a moment to embrace Shepard warmly before leaving to catch up with the others. Alan, meanwhile, was embracing Rachel, saying his farewells to her and José. As he watched he saw them walk away, doubtless to prepare the _Serenity_ for departure. Alan turned and walked over to Kiryuu, Shepard joining them seconds later.

"So, I guess it's really going to happen," said Alan. "I bet the rest of the Reapers are already on their way."

"Perhaps," said Kiryuu. "Now that Sovereign has failed, I am sure they will try to find another way to return. Remember that they are still out in the void between galaxies, further out than even the Ark. Without the Citadel Relay, even at slip-space speeds it would take them at least two years to reach our galaxy. Sovereign's destruction has bought us time, and we must take every advantage that we can."

"We'll find a way, Mr. President," said Shepard bracingly. "You said it yourself during the war; the only thing needed for the enemy to win is for us to do nothing."

"Perhaps," said Kiryuu quietly. "Of course it will not be that simple; if it was, then the Covenant could have been defeated by just one man. All things considered we were extremely lucky against Sovereign. Luck alone will not be enough to stop an entire Reaper armada. We must prepare while we still can."

"I take it that's going to be your project from now on then?" Alan asked.

"That..." muttered Kiryuu. "And a few other things..."

"What is it?" asked Shepard. Kiryuu sighed, running a claw through his dreadlocks.

"There is something else that I must look into," he replied. "When King Ghidorah tried to use my connection to the Array against me, something – I'm not sure exactly what – stopped him. In that moment, I saw something. I am sure that, for the briefest of moments, I peered deeper into the Array than I ever thought possible. There..." He paused, closing his eyes and holding his claws up to his forehead. "Normally I can capture memories, even dreams, perfectly, but this one... It is like trying to hold water in my cupped hands. I cannot stop thinking about it." He looked over at Malcho, who was still in discussions with Manda and Lofwyr. "I must ask them about it."

"Great, another mystery to solve," shrugged Alan. "We seem to be a magnet for them. I'm giving serious thought to renaming my ship the _Mystery Machine_."

"No, I don't think that would catch on," Shepard chimed in. "I assume you'll be returning to the Fleet Shadow of Fury?"

"I don't think Telek will be sitting on his laurels with the Reapers still out there," replied Alan. "I fancied going private for a while, but I reckon the big face-ache will need my help."

"I understand, Captain," said Shepard. "Shame, really; I liked the idea of having a wingman."

"What, my clapped-out old ship keeping up with the _Normandy_?" asked Alan. "Now that would be a bloody miracle."

It was then that Captain Anderson approached them, now back in his smart dress uniform.

"Mr. President?" he said. "The Council tell me that they want to speak to you and Commander Shepard."

"After all the trouble we caused them?" Alan asked mockingly. "I suppose they'll be trying to tell us that Sovereign was just a great bid bread-bin."

"I suppose I'll have to get this over with," sighed Kiryuu. "I had hoped to avoid speaking to them again, but now..."

The group followed Anderson closer to the memorial, away from the crowds, where they found the three Councillors waiting for them. There was also the unwelcome presence of Ambassador Udina, whose bruises were starting to fade and who looked very sullen. The five of them stood before the Council; Tevos was facing the monument, her eyes closed, and her mouth forming silent words. Alan wondered if she was saying a prayer for the dead. She turned to face Kiryuu, who regarded the Council coldly.

"Kiryuu Knight," she began. "We know that you have every reason not to like us..."

"Understatement of the century," muttered Alan.

"But we believe that you ought to know that the charges against you have been dropped," Tevos continued. "You have been granted a full pardon, and on behalf of the Council I wish to offer my most sincere apologies."

"We have been studying Vigil's data file supplied by Commander Shepard," said Ikram. "It confirms your account and Councillor Tevos' account from the Array; about Sovereign, about the Reapers, and especially about King Ghidorah and his Cycle of Extinction. It is our hope that with this information we can begin to develop sufficient means of defending our own people from the Reapers."

"I'd like to believe that the Reaper threat died with Sovereign," muttered Valern. "However, something tells me that this is far from the case."

"You assume correctly, Councillor," said Kiryuu frostily.

"I am surprised, however, that you made no mention of them specifically in your speech, Knight," said Valern. "That is very astute of you, and we would prefer to keep it that way."

"You must be joking..." Shepard breathed.

"Officially Sovereign was just a highly-advanced Geth warship that Saren commandeered," said Ikram. "No public acknowledgement will be made of the Reapers from us."

"Governments change," Alan spat, "but the cover-ups always remain the same."

"It is not an ideal situation, Captain Tyler," replied Tevos. "However, it is a necessary measure to-"

"Preserve galactic stability," Kiryuu cut in. "I saw this coming from a mile away."

"Think about it, Knight," said Valern sternly. "I have studied the history of your people. There was a time when they degenerated into mass panic when they mistakenly believed that a Martian invasion was taking place! As much as we like to pretend otherwise our peoples are not that different from humans. If the peoples of this galaxy learned that their days may very well be truly numbered, how do you think they would react? There are certain groups out there that would take advantage of such chaos, including Cerberus. No; it is for the best that we make no announcement of this. Our developments to fight the Reapers must be kept out of sight, at least until we know that we are ready for them."

Kiryuu shook his head. When he looked at the Councillors again, it was with an expression of great disappointment.

"I understand, Councillors," he said coldly. "I do not agree, but I understand."

"Oh dear..." Tevos sighed. "I had hoped we could avoid such unpleasantness, especially when now more than ever we need to stand united."

"Then you should have thought of that before trying to have me arrested," Kiryuu snapped. "Even if you have dropped the charges against me, I shall not be returning to my position as ambassador." At this a nasty sneer played across Udina's face.

"We had hoped to offer you a position on the Council instead..." said Tevos, causing Udina to drop his sneer as quickly as a changing traffic light.

"Come again?" Alan asked.

"That is why we called you here," said Tevos, turning to Shepard in-particular. "We came to this memorial service to recognise the enormous contributions the Alliance made in the war against Sovereign and the Geth."

"Many humans lost their lives in the battle to save the Citadel," said Ikram, waving his hand towards the memorial. "Brave and courageous soldiers who willingly gave their lives so that we, the Council, might live."

"There is no greater sacrifice," said Valern, who for once sounded deeply impressed. "We share your grief over the tragic loss of so many noble men and women."

"The Council also owes you a great personal debt, Commander," said Tevos. "One which we can never repay. You saved not just our lives, but the lives of billions from Sovereign and the Reapers."

"Commander Shepard," said Ikram, "your courage and selflessness have shown to us what humanity, the UNSC, and the entire Orion Alliance stand for."

"And though we cannot bring back those valiant soldiers who gave their lives to save ours," Valern chimed in, "we can honour their memories through our actions."

"Humanity has shown that it is ready to stand as a defender and protector of the galaxy," said Tevos. "You have proved that you are worthy to serve beside our ranks and stand alongside us in the Citadel Council."

"Councillor," Udina suddenly cut in, his tone making Alan want to vomit, "on behalf of humanity and the United Nations Space Command, we thank you for this prestigious honour and humbly accept."

"That is why we hoped you would accept the position, Kiryuu Knight," Tevos suddenly said, prompting Udina to turn as white as a sheet. "We now realise that your actions were in the galaxy's best interest; you had the most selfless of reasons for doing what you did. We need someone like you on this Council, to stand united with us as we seek a way to end the threat of the Reapers."

Kiryuu paused for a moment. Alan thought he had seen a fleeting look of surprise on Kiryuu's face, but he in turn was rather surprised when the mecha shook his head.

"It is a very tempting offer, Councillor," said Kiryuu, "and I am honoured that I was your first choice. However, I am afraid that I must decline."

"What?" asked Shepard incredulously.

"This is the opportunity of a lifetime, Knight!" said Anderson. "Earth needs someone like you on the Council, watching not only our interests but those of the galaxy! I can't think of anyone better-qualified!"

"I am humbled by your vote of confidence, Captain," replied Kiryuu, giving Anderson a small bow. "However, with all due respect, I tire of galactic politics. The incidents over the last two weeks have shown me that I can do more good away from such things. I intend to return to the Utah Foundation, my old company, and continue my work from there."

Alan nodded, looking at Kiryuu with respect. He had the feeling that the Council didn't really want Kiryuu; they just wanted his knowledge of the Reapers. He wondered if, after everything that had happened, the Council no longer ignored Kiryuu; they feared him. He couldn't decide if that was an improvement.

"So you will not help us?" asked Tevos, looking worried.

"I did not say that, Councillor," replied Kiryuu. "I am available for consultation on any matters regarding the Reapers and their creator. If your goal remains the same as mine – that is to say, the preservation and protection of all life in this galaxy from anything that could harm it – then we remain on the same side."

The Council looked very surprised. It seemed none of them had expected anybody to reject a position on the Council. Anybody else would have jumped at the chance. Alan saw Udina smirk slightly at Kiryuu, which made him hate the man all the more; he felt that Kiryuu should have taken the job if only to prevent someone like Udina from doing so.

"We respect your decision, Mr. Knight," Tevos said. "I cannot pretend that I am not disappointed, but I understand."

"That means we will need a list of potential candidates for the human seat on the Council," said Ikram.

"Given all that has happened," Valern suddenly chimed in, "I am sure your recommendation will carry a great deal of weight, Commander Shepard. Do you support any particular candidate?"

Shepard looked rather taken aback at being asked this. It was a big decision, and everyone was now looking at her. After taking a moment to compose herself, she spoke up.

"We need someone with the courage to stand up for what he believes in," she said, turning to look at Anderson. "Someone like Captain Anderson."

"Him?" Udina spat, incredulous. "You must be joking! Anderson prefers to let his fists do the talking!"

"Only with you, Ambassador," replied Anderson. "Only with you."

"Are you sure about this, Commander?" Udina stammered. "The Captain's a soldier, not a politician."

Alan did not doubt that whoever was appointed would be facing a political minefield; the kind that Udina could easily worm his way through. However, after everything the man had done, Alan knew that he would rather see someone more trustworthy in the position.

"That's the point," replied Shepard. "We've already got too many politicians on the Citadel. The Captain would be perfect for this job."

Alan looked at the Councillors. Oddly, none of them objected, even knowing what Anderson had done. Indeed, Valern and Ikram looked positively relieved, while Tevos was actually smiling.

"I think it's an inspired choice," said Tevos. "The Council would welcome him with open arms, should he accept."

"I'm honoured, Councillor," said Anderson. "As humanity's representative, I'll do everything in my power to help the Council rebuild."

Alan noticed that Kiryuu was beaming at Shepard; clearly he felt elated at her decision. He also couldn't help but notice that there was an odd look of sadness in Anderson's eyes, as if he didn't really want the job. However, that to him was a sure sign that he was the right man to do it; there was no ambition to get in the way.

"Sovereign's defeat marks the beginning of a new era," said Valern boldly, "for both humanity and the Council."

Alan and Shepard looked at each other. Both of them knew that this was far from over. They were sure that, in spite of their bluster, it would take time for the Council to accept the facts fully, and they wondered just how seriously the Council was actually taking them. Whatever the case, both knew that they had work to do.

"Let's not go patting ourselves on the back just yet," said Alan.

"Sovereign was only a vanguard," said Shepard. "The Reaper fleet is still coming; hundreds of ships, maybe thousands. I intend to find some way to stop them."

"As do I," said Kiryuu. "I hope that the Council will not waste the opportunity that has been given to them. You are right, Councillor Valern; the threat has not died with Sovereign, but there is still hope if we prepare."

"Now if you'll excuse us," Alan chimed in, "we've got monsters to fight."

With that, the three of them walked away from the Council, each going in their own separate ways. Anderson watched them go, a look of great admiration on his face, before turning back to the Council.

"They're all right," he said, in the strong, commanding voice of a born leader. "Humanity is ready to do its part. United with the Council, we have the strength to overcome any challenge! When the Reapers come, we must stand side by side! We must fight against them as one, and together we will stop them and their creator once and for all!"

**THE END**


End file.
